Beautiful Christmas
by Blackspiderman
Summary: It's the holiday season on Earth-Mewni, and Star & friends are determined to spread holiday cheer to everyone around them no matter what! Rated T for safety
1. Opening Act

**Star vs The Forces of Evil**

**Beautiful Christmas**

**Disclaimer: _Star vs The Forces of Evil_ was created by Daron Nefcy and is owned by Disney. I own no part of _Star vs_.**

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**Fanfiction Summary: It's the holiday season on Earth-Mewni, and officially it's Star's first real Earth holiday season. When the annual "Echo Creek Christmas Celebration Extravaganza" is in danger of being cancelled, Star and her friends step up to the plate to not only save it, but to expand it to be inclusive of humans, mewmans, _and_ monsters. **

**A/N: This takes place in the same continuity as "When Dimensions Cleave" and "Unforgettable Getaway." At the time of this writing "Getaway" has not yet been completed, but honestly this idea just popped into my head one time and I like _needed_ to write it before I forgot it. I'll just say that while this takes place after Getaway, you don't _need_ to read that one to be able to jump into this one (though of course I do hope you'll read that and "Dimensions" anyway, I'm proud of those works.)**

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**Chapter 1:** **Opening Act**

**Original Postdate: October 14, 2019**

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Ahh, December. Everyone in Echo Creek knows what that means: the Christmas season was right around the corner. The leaves had all fallen off the trees, the wind coated with freezing sensation, the skys turning bright white in anticipation of a gorgeous snow storm, and for many, either the best or the worst part of this time of year: shopping for presents. Oh that glorious Christmas shopping.

This was shaping up to be quite the eventful Christmas season - unlike any that had come before - for a variety of reasons. The first reason: it was the first Christmas season for the newly created Earth-Mewni hybrid world. The second: It was her first season that wasn't going to be entirely revolved around the magical stump. And yes, everyone agreed: death to the stump. Thirdly: It was looking like it was going to be a major test as to how well humans, mewmans, _and_ monster kind could all co-exist in the same world. In the months following the final end to the era of magic, life on Earth-Mewni had mostly continued on without issue. A few minor clashes here and there but nothing of major significance. The holiday season, though: that would be the big test.

And that brings us to Star Butterfly herself. To say that her life has been quite a ride for the past six months would be an understatement. After finally wrapping up her tenure as Eclipsa's royal advisor culminating with her coronation as Queen of Mewni (and somehow not collapsing from exhaustion), she then had to quickly turn around and help defend Mewni from the Solarian army attack, leading to her deciding to destroy magic, which lead to Earth and Mewni cleaving into one world so she could be with Marco...only for it to then turn out that the cleaving didn't destroy the magic, but rather gave it just to her and Marco and Mina...as well as revive Queen Solaria. All of this led to a shocking revelation involving a conspiracy conjured by the Magic High Commission that resulted in both monsters _AND_ mewmans turning on them, which helped lead to the real, final end of the era of magic once and for all. Several months - and a lot of scattered moments of exhaustion and self-loathing from Star - later, here we are.

And where was Star now on this beautiful December morning? Sleeping peacefully in her bed at the former Butterfly castle. Long past any royal wake up call, she snored right through her own alarm clock without apology, though it wasn't like anyone was going to blame her for sleeping so late. After the two years she's had that (no pun intended) royally screwed up her emotional & mental health, nobody was going to _let _her wake up early. Her mother, Moon, walked carefully into her room, smiling at her daughter the whole time. She knelled down and caressed her hair, which unfortunately was enough to cause her to stir around and open her eyes, which then prompted Moon to kiss her forehead.

"...Mom...?" The groggy Star spoke, her vision not entirely aligned yet. Moon, without a word, picked her up out of the bed and hugged her in her arms, carrying her like she was still a little kid. Unfortunately, Star, not yet awake, wasn't prepared for this and yelped. "Mom!" She said, admittedly with a laugh. She didn't hesitate to return the hug, however. "You know I'm still not entirely used to this new, overly-affectionate Mom."

Moon chuckled. "Love you too, dear." They tightened their hug on each other.

"What's going on?"

"It's the holiday season!"

"Oh that's right, Stump Da-" She stopped herself. With magic now destroyed, did that mean the magical stump was gone too? Probably so. And everyone seemed to be in agreement that it was for the best. "Oh. That's right, no more magic. But wait, if _Stump Day_ isn't a thing anymore...what do we do?"

"That's a good question. Perhaps your Earth friends can help us with that."

"Ooh, good idea!"

* * *

After dressing themselves, they both grabbed River and headed for the front entrance to the castle, opening the door to go outside. But upon stepping out into the open, they made an incredible discovery: they took their first step and found that the ground was now soft...and white.

_Snow._

The first snowfall of the winter season on Earth-Mewni. The sight was absolutely breathtaking. Light but relentless snowfall from the gorgeous white sky, a solid inch of snow plastered on the ground already, covering most everything, and a nearly silent environment only interrupted by the sounds of little kids playing in the snow in the distance. Star was completely awestruck at the sight.

Moon and River were left nearly speechless. "It's...it's snowing!" Moon called out.

"The first snowfall of the season!" River added. While snow was a thing on Mewni, the Butterflies were often too busy with running their kingdom to soak in the joys of the snow and the holiday season. This year? That was going to change. The "how" was still up in the air, but by gum they were going to live it up this holiday season no matter what. While they pondered their thought, running up tot he castle entrance came Star's group of friends: her demon ex-boyfriend Tom, Earth friends Janna & Jackie, and her wonderful boyfriend/future husband Marco.

"_**STAR**_!" Marco yelled, reaching Star & embracing her tightly. She instantly returned the hug. "We're all heading to the park. Wanna come?"

"Do I ever!" She shouted gleefully, looking up at the sky and observing the sensational snow falling before her. She had experienced snow on Mewni before, but it was nothing like this.

"Isn't it beautiful!?" Marco said finally after a brief moment of silence.

"You know, I don't think I _ever_ saw snow on Earth before. It's just as beautiful as it was on Mewni."

"No better winter feeling than a snow day on the first day of the new week." Janna said proudly.

"Yeah you got t-wait!" Star's eyes went wide, having a moment. "Somebody get me a calendar!" Marco pulled out his phone and pulled up his built-in calendar, handing it to Star for her to study. After doing a double take, she sighed. "Aw, man. It's Monday." She looked back up at the group. "Guys you're gonna have to get a head start without me. I'm sorry."

"How come?" Marco asked her.

"I've got a session."

"...oh, I see."

"You're still in therapy?" Tom asked her, in a way that made sure he didn't sound condescending when asking. After Star & Marco returned home from their post-destroying-magic vacation, everyone helped find her a therapist, which she has been seeing regularly ever since. The results have been night-and-day, but the recovery is never truly over.

"Sure am. It's done wonders for me, but I'm not about to start missing sessions just for fun, not when I've come this far."

Janna stepped forward and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Hey...proud of you, kid." Which got Star to smile.

Marco & Tom both stepped forward and hugged her. "So are we." Marco added.

"Thanks, guys."

"You want me to take you there?" Tom offered. "It's no trouble."

"Nah, that's okay. I wanna take in the scenery a little bit. But thanks. You guys go ahead without me. I'll catch up when I'm done." She started to take off. "See you later!"

"You're going in your pajamas!?" Jackie yelled just in time for her to hear. She stopped dead in her tracks and examined her person. Yeah, real smart, Star. Going to the therapist in your pajamas. She slowly backtracked and ran back into her house, slightly embarrassed.

"Eh heh heh...well _now_ I'm not." She jokingly said. Once she was inside, everyone turned around and went off to the park.

* * *

Once Star was dressed up in cozy winter clothes - as well as her now-signature leather jacket (this one a red version instead of pink) & "Bubble Butt" t-shirt (this one green with white letters) - she took off on foot towards her therapist's office. She remembered to take in the scenery on the way, beholding the absolutely gorgeous snowy set around her. An absolutely stunning winter wonderland. Young children out playing in the snow, monsters beholding the incredible view in public...it was truly incredible.

On her way to the therapist she passed by a pet shelter. She, without hesitating, opened the door and walked inside. She was greeted happily by one of the workers. "Hello Star!"

"Hi Hilda!" She walked in and set her sights on the cages at the back end of the room, filled with little puppies & kitties, all of whom instantly spotted Star & began jumping for joy in their cages. "Hello there widdle boys & girls." She immediately began cooing the little animals, winning them over like they were children. "I told you I would come back."

"You here to volunteer today?"

"Sorry, I can't stay. I have a therapy session I need to get to. I just wanted to drop in."

"Aww, good for you."

"Are these widdle guys any closer to getting adopted?"

The worker shook her head. "Nope. Sorry."

Star groaned. "What's wrong with people?! It's bad enough these little angels are left abandoned, but now nobody wants to take them home?" She kept petting them as she sulked. "Don't worry little guys. I'm sure your luck will change soon enough. Hopefully in time for the holidays." She stood up, dusted herself off, and turned to leave the shelter. "I'll be back soon, guys."

"Bye Star!"

Star exited the shelter and continued trekking on down towards her therapist. Along the way she made another stop - this time into an orphanage. She walked in the front door and was greeted again by the person at the front desk, this time a short, black male. "Hello Star! Merry Christmas!"

"Hi Reggie." She signed her name in and then gave the man a hug. "How are the kids?"

"Still waiting to be adopted, like always." He said solemnly. "You can go up and see them if you want."

"Thanks. Can't stay long, though, I've got a therapy session." She went up the spiral staircase adjacent to the front desk and made her way down the brief hall to the end door, knocking twice before turning the knob. "Hello?" She perked her head in slightly to get a look inside. There were several kids in the room - all ranging from a year old to about five years old - playing with toys with an older-aged woman looking after them. Upon hearing the door creek, the kids all stopped in their tracks. They turned to the door and they all instantly recognized Star - even the one year olds. Loud cheering erupted from them as they all stood up - or at least the ones that could walk stood up - and ran over to her; she swung the door fully open and opened her arms, grabbing as many as she could in a hug while the rest of them just piled onto her. Even the one year olds eventually crawled over to her. The elderly lady laughed.

"Hello dear."

"Hi Greta!" Star managed to sit up enough to see the elderly lady and wave to her. "Are the kids behaving for you?"

"Like little angels. Looks like they all missed you."

"Aww, I missed them too. Hopefully we can get you all a nice forever home soon. You guys deserve to spend the holidays with real family." She gasped and realized what she potentially said, looking up at Greta who smiled. "N-No offense, I mean."

"None taken, dear. I agree. But we haven't had any takers in some time."

"Jeez, what is the _matter_ with people?!" She looked back at the children, playing with them some more. "I know times are tough, but these little ones shouldn't have to suffer for it." One of the children - a four year old boy who happened to be suffering from Down Syndrome - walked up to Star and started happily clapping his hands at her, giggling endlessly. It drew the biggest smile from Star as she picked him up and gave him a kiss on his forehead. "_You_ are the most precious thing I've ever seen. Besides my boyfriend of course."

"Don't worry, child, I'm certain that our fortunes will turn soon enough."

"I hope you're right." She proceeded to stand up & dust herself off. "I wish I could stay longer, but I've got a therapy session to get to. But I'll come and visit again soon, I promise." The kids all happily cheered and laughed as she blew kisses to them all and ran out of the room and the building in a hurry.

Continuing on her trek towards her therapist's office, she passed by a nearby sandwich shop, where she also noticed there was both a homeless man _and_ a homeless fish monster sitting outside of the shop, clearly unable to afford anything from inside. Sympathizing, she walked into the sandwich shop, ordered two hot sandwiches, and gave one to each of them. They hugged her in gratitude, and she was on her way once again.

Her last detour before arriving was passing by a group of children monsters & humans building a snowman together. Unfortunately the snowman wasn't coming together as they had hoped it would. The snowman continued to fall apart, discouraging the children. Star decided to head over to them and help them build it back up from scratch. With her efforts and her undying encouragement, they were finally able to build it up to where they wanted it to be. Grateful, the children all hugged Star and asked her to stick around and play, but of course, she could not.

And finally, after all of that, she reached the building that housed her therapist's office. She walked slowly to the front door, buzzed the intercom, and walked inside, closing the door behind her.

* * *

About an hour or so later, once Star was finished, she raced to the park to catch up with her friends, who were all in the middle of a blood thirsty snowball fight. She hid herself very discreetly in one of the snow-covered trees, waiting to pounce. She didn't have to wait long for her chance; Jackie & Marco found themselves heading towards said tree, with Marco on the offensive. But his onslaught was quickly thwarted when Star shot some snowballs from the tree at him, drawing his & Jackie's attention. "You gotta me slicker than that, Marco!" She shouted at him.

"Star?! Hey, you made it!" Marco said happily, not even acknowledging being pelted. "How'd it go?"

"It went great!" She declared.

"Glad to hear it." Jackie chimed in. "Now come join us, you're missing out on the fun."

"Aye aye, Miss Lynn Thomas!" Star jumped off the branch she was sitting on and landed in the snow back-first. Slightly dazed, she shook it off & laughed heartily. Jackie reached an arm out to help her.

"I got you, girl."

"Thanks J-" Star took the arm, but upon doing so caught a glimpse of Jackie. Suddenly, something inside her started to bubble. "Thanks Jackie." She stood up slowly and dusted herself off, still staring at her.

"What's wrong?"

But once Jackie spoke again Star was able to shake it off. "Oh, nothing. I...I really like your snow suit. It fits you really nice." She took note of her red top & red hat, as well as her green pants & green boots. _Especially_ the green pants.

But Jackie didn't notice the target of her stare and simply took the compliment. "Thanks, Star. I got it in France." With that note she turned around and started running after Marco, with Star inexplicably keeping her gaze at Jackie's green pants...until she slapped herself and snapped out of her trance. What actually just happened? Unfortunately she didn't have time to dwell on it and returned her attention to the snowball fight in front of her.

* * *

The bombastic insanity of the snowball fight continued for some time, eventually devolving into Star, Marco, Jackie, Janna, and Tom all pummeling each other into the snow beneath them and bursting out into hysterical laughter. Not really the stuff of an epic snowball fight but they all had fun and that was what mattered the most. "Well that was a heck of a lot of fun!" Star declared.

"Not bad for the first snowfall of the year, huh?" Janna remarked.

"I hope we get snow like this for Christmas Eve." Marco interjected. "It'll make the party that much more beautiful."

"Party?"

"Oh yeah, so every Christmas Eve there's this big Christmas bash here in the park for all of Echo Creek." Janna explained. "There's food, music, gift exchanges, the works. It's a great time!"

"Sounds like it!"

"Hey look!" Marco pointed out in the distance to an older gentleman standing by the entrance of the park. "That's the guy that organizes the party every year."

"Ooh, celebrity!" Star stood up, dusted the snow off of her body, and started running towards him.

"Star wait!" Which caused Marco and the rest of them to run after her. They caught up with her just in time as she arrived at his footstep, waving frantically.

"Hi there!" She shouted gleefully before being restrained by Marco and the others. The older gentleman just chuckled.

"I'm sorry, sir. She's just really excited for the Christmas party." He explained. This got another laugh from the gentleman before his face solemnly fell, which immediately got Marco's attention. "What?"

He shook his head lightly. Always a sign of impending bad news. "Folks, I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news. But...there's not going to be a Christmas party this year."

And instantly every one of their faces fell. Star was the first to speak up. "Wait, why?"

The man sighed. "It's...it's not something you need to know." Was all he said before he sadly turned around and started to walk away. The others behind Star began exchanging looks while Star took the brilliant initiative to chase after him.

"WAIT!" She yelled, meeting up with him just as he was exiting the park. "Is it...is it the snow? Because I'm sure there's plenty of ways to work around that." Star got so caught up in this that she didn't realize she was following him back to his home, which happened to be located close by in a thrift shop that he ran.

"It's not the snow." He said firmly. "I really don't want to talk about it." He approached the door before being intercepted by Star, who carried with her a glum look.

"You sure?" She said firmly, pulling out a piece of paper from one of her jacket pockets, handing it to him. "Because I host a regular class about the perils of mental health & emotional baggage. I got my permits & everything." The man studied the paper intently. (**Yes I will explain this later**). "Try me." She said with somewhat of a triumphant smile, only to be interrupted by a delivery truck pulling up on the curb.

"Package delivery for..." The delivery man held out a paper and started reading from it. "Chester Dunlap?"

"That's me!" The older gentleman answered. The delivery guy picked up a package and proceeded to literally chuck it out the door, prompting Star to dash in front of Mr. Dunlap and intercept it, as she suspected that his reflexes would not be fast enough to catch it. What's worse? The package was labeled "Fragile." The result? Star was pushed onto the ground by the motion, still holding the package, answering Mr. Dunlap.

"_**HEY!**_" He shouted at the driver. "That package was labeled "Fragile!"

"Dude, they don't pay me enough to pay any mind to that." He said bluntly. "Besides, that's more of a suggestion than a rule, if you think about it." It was obvious that this man was clearly stuck in life and completely content with staying in neutral. With those words, he drove off, leaving Mr. Dunlap visibly infuriated.

"I'm okay, thanks for asking!" Star shouted, which shook him out of his rage. The box Star caught had opened due to the force of the throw, and out popped what appeared to be a small figurine of a man and a woman holding each other & dancing. "Aww, it's so cute."

Mr. Dunlap chuckled, finding Star's admiration of the figurine to be adorable. "That's, er...that's me. M-Me and my late wife."

"You guys are adorable together." Initially, Mr. Dunlap's words didn't sink in for her. But ever so slowly, they sunk in. Her face fell gradually as the weight of his statement finally clicked. She looked back up at him with tears beginning to swell. "Oh. Oh I'm...I'm so sorry. I-I didn't know."

He slowly walked over to her, helped her up, and gently took the figurine out of her hands. "A few months ago, actually. Breast cancer."

"Oh my gosh, that's horrible! Is that...is that why you don't want..."

The pained look on her teary face touched him. The truth was, Mr. Dunlap was well known around these parts specifically for the Christmas party he and his wife threw every year. But his wife's passing was not something that was known in the public circles. He made sure of that. He suspected, though, that that wouldn't last much longer, especially with someone like Star - a girl he never even knew until just five minutes ago - appeared sincerely devastated by this bombshell. He took her shoulder and started leading her towards the door. "Why don't you come inside for some hot chocolate?" He carefully opened the door and led her into the thrift shop.

**End of Chapter 1!**

**So a few things. Firstly, if you visit my profile page, you'll now see that there's a comprehensive (by my standards at least) timeline of the post-cleaved world that I'm creating. This is _technically_ the fourth installment of that timeline but I'm posting it as the third since, well, this was the idea that came to me first. _The Ballad of Earth-Mewni _\- another story I plan to work on - technically takes places, at least at the beginning, _before_ this story, but in the middle of it there will be a time skip where this story will be skipped over.**

**Now, a few details I'm going to list off that will be established in _Ballad of Earth-Mewni_ but I'm mentioning here for context and to avoid confusion.**

**1) Moon is trying to be a more affectionate mother to Star. This is going to be the basis for an episode idea in _Ballad_ when I finally get to it. I've read a lot of stories where post-cleaved Moon just doubles down on trying to control everything and remain wrapped in the monarchy - all good stories, though - so why not have one where she goes the opposite route?**

**2) Shortly after Star & Marco return from their vacation in _Unforgettable Getaway_, Star enrolls herself in therapy. Willingly. She might not be thrilled about the fact that this needs to happen but she fully embraces that she has serious issues she needs to work through and wants to get back to where she was before she punched out a mirror and nearly bled out.**

**3) Star decides she wants to give back, using her experiences in therapy and fighting to restore her own mental health to open her own clinic & help others with their struggles, and it actually has some mild success. It isn't ground breaking nor is it breaking the bank for her, but she feels like she's accomplishing something so that's good.**

**I look forward to revisiting these plot points in the future when I get that fourth fix up and running.**

**Yes, I do intend to finish the Getaway story. As of this writing it is not quite finished, but it is _almost _finished, maybe a few chapters left at most. And as I said, you don't necessarily need to finish that one to jump right into this one.**

**As always please read & review! i would appreciate any and all constructive feedback on this story! ^_^**


	2. Heart-Wrenching Backstory

**Star vs The Forces of Evil**

**Beautiful Christmas**

**Disclaimer: _Star vs The Forces of Evil_ was created by Daron Nefcy and is owned by Disney. I own no part of _Star vs_.**

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**Chapter 2: Heart-Wrenching Backstory**

**Original Postdate: October 19, 2019**

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Mr. Dunlap led Star into his thrift shop and then subsequently up the stairs towards his living floor. His shop doubled as his home; when he was not downstairs running the shop, he was upstairs enjoying the confines of his home. On the to floor there was a bathroom, two bedrooms - each with a TV - and a kitchen. A basic apartment, essentially. Mr. Dunlap treated Star to a cup of hot chocolate and sat her down in the kitchen with a cup of hot chocolate himself.

"Barbara and I...we met in high school." He began with no prompting or pushing from Star whatsoever. "We hit it off right away. Everything just came so easy for us. The day of our college graduation I proposed to her. I didn't need a second thought about any of it. I knew she was the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. She said yes." He took a sip, followed by a light chuckle at nothing. "We were married 36 years. Thirty six wonderful years with the most amazing woman you could ever encounter. The last fourteen of those years...she helped plan every Echo Creek Christmas party. The decorations, the food, the entertainment, the gifts..."

"Oh wow..." Was all Star could muster. No wonder he seemed to have no motivation to do it this year.

"She never liked public attention, so I was the face of the entire project. I got the adulation and credit for it, but those parties wouldn't be anything without her behind the scenes. She loved Christmas. She loved giving back. It was her comfort zone." This hit a bit close to home for Star. Star _loves_ giving back to others and hates being the center of attention. Sounds like she and Mrs. Dunlap would've gotten along really well.

"...How long did she suffer?" Star asked. Poor Star, always the wrong words for the right intent. But it didn't seem to faze Mr. Dunlap.

"Almost three years." A stern, unrelenting answer that left Star utterly shocked. "After the first round of treatment...didn't work, we just stopped. We couldn't afford any further treatments. But she didn't stop fighting. She kept herself busy, active...she was always involved in charity work. The annual Christmas party was her proudest work."

Star put on a warm smile, sipping her own hot chocolate. "You know I've never...gotten to experience a Christmas party on Earth before." Her statement got a raised eyebrow from Mr. Dunlap. He was one of the few people on Earth - or at least in Echo Creek - that never interacted with Star in any meaningful way in the past. So her statement there meant almost nothing to him on any level. Still, he wasn't about to be rude to her, so he let out a sympathetic chuckle.

"It was her favorite holiday." He caressed the little figurine of him and his wife, which got a smile from Star. "Mine too. We looked forward to it every year. But then the cancer came, and the holidays...it got a lot harder to get into the spirit of things. She stayed busy as long as she could. Last year...last year was the first time she couldn't help with any of the party planning. She couldn't get out of bed. Last six months, she was completely bedridden. It was horrible, agonizing...watching someone you love die that slowly & painfully...that's something I'd never wish on my worst enemies."

She took another sip of her hot chocolate and patted his arm lightly. "I'm so sorry."

"You know I probably _could_ do it if I wanted to. I'm not _that_ old. My body's fine. But my heart...it's just not in it this year. I don't know if it'll ever be in for it again."

Now she stood up from her seat and walked over, embracing him softly. "I'm sorry for your loss. You know, if it's _that_ painful to relive, couldn't you just...I don't know, pass on the responsibilities to somebody else. Like...like someone else in the family? O-Or a close friend? Or...or _me_."

His head shot up and his gaze went right to her. _Her_? What was she thinking? _Was_ she thinking? "You?" He thought that perhaps she would second guess herself or try to cover herself, like it was a slip up. Nope. She nodded firmly. He laughed again. "Kid...I don't even _know_ you. I know _of_ you-" And even then, it was only barely. "But we literally just met five minutes ago."

She cocked her head, completely unfazed by his words. "Why does that matter?"

Her response caught him entirely off guard. "What?"

"I said _why does that matter_?" She gave him an opportunity to respond, but he could not find any words to speak. "Why does it matter that we don't know each other? Why does it matter that I only just met you today and that I still barely have any idea who you are? If you ask me, it _shouldn't_ matter." She took a step back and posed proudly. "If there's one thing I _love_ to do, it's to spread cheer and happiness to everyone around me, whether I'm acquainted with them or not. Even if it's something as small as buying a person without a home a meal or playing with orphaned children or pets. _Everyone_ deserves to feel some wholesome joy...except Nazis, racists, or bigots, screw those punks."

Even he couldn't help but laugh at that comment. This girl was bright, despite her age.

"We're not talking about reinventing the wheel here, just throwing a holiday party for the people of Echo Creek."

"Yeah, a party-" He followed her in standing up from his seat. "-for thousands of people in a gigantic open park where we could easily be hit with a blizzard that screws everything up. It's not as simple as changing a lightbulb. Besides, that whole party planning? Usually started in November. As in..._last month_. Do you really think _you_ \- a young fifteen, maybe sixteen-year old girl - could throw a giant blockbuster Christmas party for the entire town in three weeks?"

She smirked playfully, completely unfettered and her fiery resolve as strong as ever. "They don't call me _Star The Underestimated_ for nothing. Well, at least not anymore, that _was_ going to be my queenly name. Now I prefer to be called _Bubble Butt_." She unzipped her jacket to show off her signature T-shirt to him, with a completely straight face. It was the straight face that got Mr. Dunlap to laugh again.

"You know, I see a lot of Barbara in you. So young, so vibrant, such resolve..." He shook his head with a smile. "Okay...if you think you can pull it off, be my guest. Go nuts."

Her face lit up in excitement. "You mean that!?" He nodded. "Alright! Operation 'Best Holiday Party Ever' is a go!" She threw her hands up in the air in celebratory victory. Success! Now came the hard part...actually throwing the damn party. But Star was more than determined to see it through. She stuck her hand out to shake his. "Thanks, Mr. Dunlap! I promise you you won't be disappointed." Reluctantly, Mr. Dunlap shook Star's hand. "And I'm sure Barbara would be really proud, too."

Always so sentimental, Star managed to get him to crack a smile. With that, she saluted him and took off, making her towards the entrance back to the thrift shop which would take her back outside. But not before turning back around to face him once more. "By that way, that hot chocolate..._perfection!_" She winked and turned back around, leaving for good this time.

* * *

Later that night, Star was in her room in the Butterfly castle, with loose papers scattered all around her on the floor. She wasted no time in preparations for the big event, which at the moment was only three weeks away. Of course, she wasn't letting that deter her confidence. As she was working, Marco, Janna, Tom, and Jackie came into her room, having knocked on her door and realized it was slightly open. "Star?" Marco spoke, breaking the silence in the room and causing Star's attention to be broken.

"Oh, hey guys. I didn't hear you come in." She said. The others took immediate notice of the papers.

"What's going on?" Tom asked.

"Oh, I didn't get a chance to tell you. The party's back on!"

They all immediately started cheering, only to then quiet down when they started putting the pieces together. "Wait...don't tell us..." Marco already knew what was happening.

"That's right! Hosted by _yours truly!_"

The others all exchanged confused looks with each other. "Not that that isn't cool and all, but...like, _why_?" Tom asked bluntly.

"Because a party is exactly what we all need to lift our spirits this holiday season! Why should a time-honored tradition go to the wayside just because Mr. Dunlap suffered a personal life?"

To her surprise, they all gasped in shock. "What personal loss?" Marco stuttered. Again, their response left her surprised.

"...His wife passed away three months ago."

And again they all gave each other confused looks. "I didn't even know he was married." Jackie admitted. Janna responded in kind with a befuddled shrug.

"Wow, when he said his wife didn't like to be in the spotlight, he was _not_ kidding."

"What happened?"

"Well, he said it was breast cancer..." Which was followed immediately by crestfallen, disgusted groans from the others. "...which I'm guessing is really bad."

"No kidding." Marco added.

"After something like _that_, no wonder he's not in any sort of holiday spirit." Janna said. "And he just let _you_ take over the party planning?"

"What can I say? I can be _very_ convincing when I need to be. Isn't that right, Marco?" She winked towards her boyfriend, who blushed and rolled his eyes.

"Star are you sure this is something you want to do?" Marco asked, understandably concerned for his girlfriend. "There's 3 weeks until Christmas, and the _last_ thing we need is for you to run yourself into the ground again. You...tend to do that from time to time."

She scoffed and rolled _her_ eyes in response. "Marco, I'm not that same girl from two years ago. I've changed. A lot. I know that the last year has been kind of...rough in places. But I'm going to be fine. Now I know to back off and give myself a break when I start to run down."

"You say that now, but..."

"Okay, you know what? Hush. It's not _your_ party, it's Mr. Dunlap's, and I refuse to let him down!"

"Alright, fine, but will you at least let us help you?"

She carefully put down her pad & pen, avoiding dropping them out of shock. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Don't make me say it again."

"You know, I've never actually done any party planning before." Tom admitted to the group. "This could be a fun dip into that pool."

"Please don't say 'pool,' it's way too cold to be thinking like that." Janna ribbed him, both figuratively and literally.

"Hey, if we're gonna do this, count me in." Jackie jumped in very happily. "Christmas parties are the best!"

Star's face lit up significantly after hearing Jackie speak up, trying only barely to hide back a blush. "You're in too? Alright, that's what I'm talking about!" She instantly jumped up from where she was sitting and gave Jackie a high-five, completely unprompted. Only the confused looks of her compatriots - minus Jackie - snapped her out of her smile. "What? We need all the help we can get."

"I think I can convince my parents to handle the catering." Marco spoke up again. "They like cooking for parties."

"And mine might be able to help with decorations and such." Star speculated. "Mom _is_ good with fancy decor. And Dad's good at making fast friends, maybe he can help with spreading the word about this party."

"Can we actually pull this off?" Janna asked. "We're just teenagers."

"Teenagers with _attitude._" Star corrected her. 'Oh yeah, we can totally do this. We've faced so much worse before this. This is _nothing_ for 'The Dream Team!"

"I did not agree to that name." Janna quipped fast, getting a laugh from everyone.

* * *

In the main lobby of the castle, The Butterflies and Diazes were all socializing and letting Mariposa & Meteora play with each other. The kids ventured downstairs to meet up with them, explaining the situation to them and asking them for their help.

"So..._you_ five are going to be throwing that big annual Christmas party this year?" Rafael asked, just to ensure he didn't mishear them.

"Yep!" Star answered proudly. "Isn't it great?"

"I suppose, but isn't that a tall order?" Angie pointed out. "And it's so close to Christmas."

"So?" Star knew Marco's parents meant well, but she did _not_ like to be underestimated. "I've dealt with much crazier things than this in my life. I was a _princess_ for crying out loud. I almost drove myself into the ground playing the political game in trying to bring peace between my people and the monsters of Mewni. Hell I'm still in _therapy_ for that. A fun Christmas party? That's _nothing_. We can do this!"

"We just need a little bit of help, is all." Marco finished for her.

"I _do_ love a good party!" River declared, turning to his wife. "I say let's go for it!"

"But River, dear, we...we barely know _anything_ about their traditions." She pointed out. "I'm still struggling to adjust to the idea of there not being a Stump Day anymore."

"If you ask me, it's for the best." Star spoke up again, suddenly with a rather bitter tone. "Stump Day _sucks._"

"You speak the truth, dear!" Eclipsa jumped in, happily agreeing with Star. "Perhaps this 'Christmas' holiday will be much better for all of us."

"Hey Mom, Dad, we're gonna get a head start on the planning. Why don't you go with Star's folks and give them a little history lesson about all of the wonderful December holidays we get to celebrate on Earth?" Marco suggested, to which his parents agreed.

"Yeah, and when we're far enough along in preparations we'll-" Star instantaneously stopped and turned her head quickly to Marco. "_Other_ December holidays?"

And it was only _now_ that Marco realized his oopsie. "We-We should get going." He tried to cover himself by rushing everyone out of the room, leaving the adults to talk with themselves.

Unfortunately, it was in vain as Star still decided to confront Marco about his statement. "Marco!" She got his attention rather easily once they were outside. "_Other_ December holidays? What was that all about?"

The boy sighed and turned to face his girlfriend. "Sorry, Star. I-I kinda forgot that...I haven't taught you everything about Earth yet."

"You seriously expected her to know there was more than one holiday in December?" Janna scolded him. "She didn't even stay long enough last time to experience Christmas herself."

"Okay Janna I _get it. _Didn't think it through, that's all."

"Just _spill it_ already, guys." Star shouted, clearly unamused by the shenanigans.

"It's no big deal, Star." Janna explained. "It's just that Christmas isn't the only holiday people celebrate in the month of snow."

"It's just the most famous and well-known holiday." Jackie continued. "There's other holidays like...Kwanzaa, Hanukkah-"

"_Boxing Day_." Janna interrupted, appearing to take a particular interest in _that_ holiday. Star, meanwhile, was left completely baffled.

"...Why have I never heard any of this before?"

"You never really got a chance to have a winter holiday on Earth before now." Marco explained. "Plus it's not really something people talk about casually outside of winter."

"But...Mr. Dunlap and his wife only ever through _Christmas_ parties."

"Right, because _they_ celebrate Christmas."

"...But not everyone does?" The friends all nodded in unison. "Wait, so...so have they been just keeping out people who don't-"

"Oh no, never. They've _never_ had a problem with people that don't celebrate the holiday. The party's always been open to everyone. It's just that...well, if you celebrate Hanukkah, are you really going to want to attend a party meant to celebrate _Christmas_?"

A reasonable question, one that got the gears in Star's brain to turn. "Good point. Aww, now I feel sad."

"Don't. It's not your issue."

"It is _now_. I'm the one throwing the party, after all. And this year, things are going to be a little bit different."

"Star..." Marco suddenly became concerned. "Don't do anything too outlandish or insane, please."

She scoffed. "Marco, please. I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel. Don't worry about that, I'm _done_ trying to change the world all at once. I know that's not possible. But just because I can't change _the_ world doesn't mean I can't brighten someone else's. Right?"

He hesitated, pondering her words before realizing that, yep, she had a point. "Dangit, I hate it when you do that."

"You're just jealous cause you're still a step behind me."

"You know, if you really want to do this, maybe it'll help to learn about these other holidays." Tom pointed out. "Maybe there's a place we can go that houses all of this information? You know, like a genius convention or an encyclopedia store?"

Tom's question was met with the others looking at him like he had four heads. "You mean a _library?_" Janna said bluntly.

"Is that what you guys call it?"

And Janna facepalmed, while the others laugh.

"So what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Star took the initiative and started dashing away...in the wrong direction.

"Star!" Marco called to her. "Other way!"

And she quickly turned around and started running the other way. "Come on, no time to lose!" The rest of her friends followed suit, no questions asked. They were high on ambitions, high on optimism, but low on time. Every precious second counted.

**End of Chapter 2!**

**So, how're we liking this story so far? Don't mind that it's October at the time of this chapter's release, it's _never_ too early to get into the giving spirit.**

**As always, please read & review!**


	3. Holiday Lesson 101

**Star vs The Forces of Evil**

**Beautiful Christmas**

**Disclaimer: _Star vs The Forces of Evil_ was created by Daron Nefcy and is owned by Disney. I own no part of _Star vs_.**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Holiday Lesson 101**

**Original Postdate: October 25, 2019**

* * *

**21 days until Christmas Eve**

The teens all arrived at the Echo Creek library, which at the moment was fairly quiet. Christmas lights shimmering down on the very few patrons that were already there, decorations covering almost all of the empty walls, and the workers all dressed in holiday colors. Star approached the front desk, headed by a female clerk. "Hi." She whispered. "I need some books on winter holidays."

"Sure thing. What's the occasion?" The clerk asked her.

"Oh nothing much, just need some information for some party planning."

"Party planning?"

"Yeah, that Echo Creek Christmas party in the park every year."

The clerk's eyes perked up. "I thought that was cancelled this year..."

"Nope, it's just under new management." Star beamed with pride, and her statement further piqued the clerk's interest.

"Really? Who?"

Star pointed to herself. "Me!" She said proudly. "And it's gonna be the best party _ever!_ Buuuut I could use a little bit of help since I don't really know where to start."

The clerk seemed to take an extended interest in Star's plight for whatever reason. Out of nowhere, she stood up and instructed them to follow her. "I could help with that." She led Star and her friends into another room - one that was significantly smaller than the rest of the library, with a smaller stash of books. The clerk walked over to one of the shelves and pulled out a book, handing it to Star. "Here. Maybe this will help."

The book cover read _"Winter Holidays: A Historical Review." _The title instantly made Star's eyes pop and her smile widen. "And this has _everything_ that I'll need to know?"

"Sure thing." The clerk replied happily. "So what's the deal? I thought Mr. Dunlap was handling the planning."

She hesitated before speaking again. "...you mean _Mrs. Dunlap_."

The clerk's face fell gradually. It was like her words hit her like a ton of bricks. "Come again?"

"Yeah long story but...well there was originally no party this year because his wife passed and it put him in a bit of a black cloud-"

"Wait a minute he was _married_!?" It was only one person but the idea that this supposedly popular local celebrity who put together a well known Christmas party _every year_ was not actually _that_ well known was surreal to Star. Did _anybody_ know he was married? Did _anyone_ want to know? Did _he_ want them not to know? "So _that's_ why he would never go on a dinner date with me!"

"TMI, lady." Janna spoke up, drawing snickers from the others.

"Wait a second, you didn't know he was married?"

"Mr. Dunlap doesn't share a lot about his personal life, and he was the only one people ever saw out there setting everything up, so..."

"Wow. That's so sad. But yeah, he wasn't even _going_ to do it this year and that's when I stepped in and volunteered to do it for him."

"That's all fine and good, but...who exactly are-"

"Who am I?" She handed the book over to Marco to hold. "Why only the former princess of Mewni. The girl with attitude. The _underestimated._" She unzipped her leather jacket to reveal her signature T-shirt again. "Read the t-shirt, ma'am." And this action got the clerk to struggle holding back a laugh.

"Are you going to show that off to _everyone_?" Tom asked her.

"Yes...yes I am."

"But if you're throwing a Christmas party, why do you need a book about other winter holidays?"

"Well...why not? If _I_ didn't even know there were other holidays besides Christmas that Earth people celebrated, imagine how many _other_ Earth people don't know about those other holidays. So I figured...why not let this year's party be as big and diverse as possible? Let **_everybody_** in this year. Not that he was ever excluding anyone before, but that's not the same as actively courting those that don't normally feel included in the festivities."

"You know, if it's knowledge you're looking for, maybe I can help you." The clerk offered. "I'm Jewish." Those words...meant absolutely nothing to Star, which Marco silently indicated behind her. "I celebrate Hanukkah."

"Oh, that's great! So...what exactly _is_ Hanukkah?" Marco handed the book back to Star, and she opened it right to the page that started talking about the holiday. "Hanukkah..." She began reading aloud. "_a Jewish festival commemorating the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire...also known as the **Festival of Lights.**_ Wow, I have no idea what any of that's supposed to mean." She continued reading. "_Observed for 8 days and nights, this hol_-wait wait wait, time out." She looked up at the clerk. "These people get _eight_ days in a row for a holiday?! Lucky!"

"It's true." The clerk walked over to another of the shelves and reached for the top, taking off of the top what appeared to be a menorah. "And we signify each passing night of Hanukkah by lighting a candle on this...it's called a _menorah_."

"Oooooh...it's so pretty."

"You should see it when it's fully lit."

"But doesn't that create a significant fire hazard though? I mean if we're assuming that everyone lights wax candles every day and that the first candle stays lit for the entire 8 day period, isn't there a significantly increased chance that the melting wax will create a perfect lightning rod for an errant candle lighting to engulf your place of living?" Star speculated, for some reason giving it incredibly intense thought...to the surprise of her friends. But their surprise caught _her_ by surprise. "What? Don't tell me you guys have never thought about something like that..."

The clerk laughed again. "You know, some people use an electronic menorah so they can avoid that problem."

Star continued to skim through the pages quickly, taking note of the vast amounts of information. "Holy smokes there's a lot in this book...it's gonna take me forever to sift through all of this."

"And that's just on Hanukkah. Wait until you get to the section on Kwanzaa."

Star did a double take on her. "...Kwanzaa?" And she flipped through even more pages before reaching the part of the book that talked about the holiday. "_A week-long annual celebration to honor African heritage in African-American culture._ Oh how nice." She continued reading. "_Takes place between December 26 and January 1._"

"Right in time for the new year."

"Oh yeah I forgot you guys have that too. Hey, wait a second..." She continued reading. "Kwanzaa people use a menorah too?"

The clerk laughed. "Not exactly. They call it a _kinara_. Instead of lighting the candles to signify the passing days, they light them to signify seven different principles."

Star turned her attention back to the book and continued reading. "_Unity, Self-Determination, Responsibility, Cooperative Economics_ \- whatever that is - _Purpose, Creativity, and Faith."_ And after she finished she closed the book. "Boy, who knew there were so many rules to these holidays?"

"Oh it's very easy to get into it when you do it every year."

"Well that's part of my problem. I _haven't_ done it every year. Hell I've never done it at _all_. All my life I've only ever celebrate Stump Day!" And of course, with the clerk being originally from Earth, Star's declaration meant absolutely nothing. "Oh, that's right, that was only a Mewni thing. I had a point somewhere...oh right! There's so much that's going into all of these holidays that I never knew about. I-I don't even know where to start."

"How about decorations?" Tom proposed. "Let's get a whole bunch of decorations and then go from there."

Star reopened the book again and quickly flipped through the pages. Sure enough, there was a wealth of information on proper decorations for Hanukkah _and_ Kwanzaa. "Okay, that could work." She looked up at the clerk. "Thank you _so_ much for all your help."

"Anytime, hun. I'll ring that book up from you and you'll be all set." The clerk led them back to the main desk where she checked the book out for them with ease.

"Will we see you at the party? It'll be on Christmas Eve just like it always is." Marco asked her.

The clerk gave it some thought. "I don't know. I'll think about it."

"I promise you if you come, you _won't_ regret it." Star assured her before she and her friends took off. "Thanks for the help!"

* * *

Their next stop was to a nearby mall, one that was well known for its extensive stock of holiday decorations. Yes, including Kwanzaa and Hanukkah. Star was deadset on making this party the most inclusive party ever, and what better way to start out than by having the best decorations? The group split up into two separate sub-groups - group one being Janna & Tom, and group two being Marco, Star, & Jackie.

Janna & Tom went off to find smaller decor pieces for the party. Their venture took them to various parts of the store, but in their travels they collected pieces such as: custom-made Hanukkah candles, dreidels, a fancy silver-colored electric menorah, beaded garland, a beautiful blue & silver wreath, and a gorgeous Star of David ornament set. And that was just for Hanukkah. Kwanzaa saw far fewer actual decorations available, but they were still able to collect some nice things such as black, red, & green vases, blankets, candles, and plates to celebrate the holiday colors, as well as some vintage, newly restored African folk art to put on display. It wasn't much, but it was a start.

As for Star, Marco, & Jackie, they focused on Christmas decorations. They were able to come up with a vast amount of decorations, like sewn together snowmen, a model gingerbread house with custom-made gingerbread figurines, stockings, a person-sized blow-up Christmas tree, a snow machine, etcetera. Up next on their list of decorations to get: curtains, in the colors of Christmas.

They came to an aisle with loads of Christmas decorations, but it also came with slight disappointment as they realized that the curtains they were looking for were on the very highest shelf on the isle...several shelves up, and way too high for any of them to reach normally. "Why do they even have shelves this high at all?" Star pondered, to which both Jackie & Marco shrugged. Lucky for them, there was a nearby ladder that happened to reach the top shelf. Unfortunately, it wasn't very sturdy.

"And why would they have anything less than a sturdy ladder to use?" Jackie asked out loud. She took a step on the first rung and the ladder shook. "Real good quality check, guys."

"I got your back." Star announced immediately, taking the rear and letting Jackie start climbing up, while keeping an eye on her and the ladder in case something happened. Marco stayed on the ground floor and held the ladder, ensuring it wouldn't sway too much while Jackie & Star climbed up. Now, in theory, Star's part of this plan was fine: back up Jackie and be ready in case she were to slip, and she would be there to catch her and hold her up. Unfortunately, there was a slight problem with this scenario.

See, Star has been...distracted by Jackie. Yes, like that. And it's not a recent thing either. And now here she was, climbing up a ladder with Jackie right above her with a _clear_ view of her rear end in those green winter pants. It was a recipe for potential disaster. When they reached the top, Jackie began digging on the top shelf looking for the proper curtains. Unfortunately, despite Marco's best efforts to hold the ladder steady, it still shook slightly, catching Jackie off guard. "Whoa...they call this _safe_?"

"Don't worry, I'm right here." Star said, unconsciously grabbing onto Jackie's hips; subconsciously she thought holding her hips would help steady her and allow her to focus on the task at hand.

"Thanks Star, that's a big help." Consciously, however, Star didn't realize what she had actually done until after Jackie had spoken. But despite this newfound knowledge, she didn't move her hands off. In fact, it was a struggle for her, as she would occassionally find her hands sliding down - not intentionally of course - but it took her a while to actually register this and readjust herself. And while Jackie was dropping the supplies she managed to find down to Marco to collect and put in their cart, Star kept her gaze right on Jackie...and alternating between her glowing smile and her tush.

As Jackie continued sifting through the supplies, the ladder continued to wobble all over. Marco was still doing his best to hold it steady but it was becoming obvious that the ladder was slowly breaking down. "Um...I don't think this thing is going to hold us much longer." Star commented, to which Jackie sadly agreed.

"Oh well, I think we've got more than enough for today."

Star nodded in agreement. "Marco, we're coming down!" Star took one step down, but the wrung she stepped on suddenly cracked, startling Star and forcing her to try to recover quickly, which did not pan out. Instead, trying to return to the wrung her other foot was resting on caused it to crack as well, which resulted in the entire ladder starting to crack, and eventually they just made a break for the ground before the entire ladder collapsed, causing the two girls to land on the ground a bit hard, moreso Star in particular since she ended up breaking Jackie's fall a bit. The shock of hitting the ground rung through their bodies and put them in a temporary state of shock, and they had to be helped up by Marco simultaneously just so they could steady themselves up against each other.

"You guys okay?" Marco asked them as they slowly took to brushing themselves off.

"Yeah, I think so..." Jackie responded, giving Star a pat on the shoulder. "Thanks for breaking my fall, Star. You okay?"

The shoulder pat clearly caught Star off guard and sent her into a hard blush again. "Oh, uh, yeah yeah. Totally! I'm just...happy you didn't get hurt." She was not doing a very good job of hiding her obvious blush from the other two, and Marco silently indicated to her that he was picking up on it. If Jackie had also picked up on it, she was not showing it.

"Let's go find the others." Jackie took the initiative to take the cart and go find Janna & Tom, leaving Star & Marco temporarily alone.

"...are you sure you're okay?" Marco asked her, obviously not referring to her fall. Star said nothing; she started sweating bullets & blushing even hard.

"Let's go find the others!" She said quickly, taking off to do just that. The boy sighed and proceeded to follow her.

* * *

Once they paid for their materials they returned to Star's room at the Butterfly castle, separating the materials into three different garbage bags - one for each of the big three holidays. "Okay, and that's that." Star said triumphantly, closing the last bag for the time being. "We've got all of our supplies. Step one is officially done. Now...onto everything else." She turned to the other. "Now we gotta get the park set up for the party. I think I can convince Globgor to help us build some of the set pieces we're going to need. I'm thinking a big stage for, like, entertainment and stuff, maybe a nice buffet table for all the food...ooh, how about-"

"Star..." Marco spoke up, tiptoeing up to her and giving her a hug. "Easy, girl."

Once his arms touched her, it felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. " Sorry."

"Look, I think we already got the hard part down. Tomorrow we and our parents can all team up to start decorating the park and getting it ready for Christmas Eve."

She looked away briefly and started unconsciously tapping her foot, like a nervous tick. "No, I think the hard part's going to be convincing everyone to _come_ to the party. I want _everyone_ to be there, guys. Not just the people that celebrate Christmas. What if they all just think this is all some vapid attempt to gain their respect o-or they realize that it's not Mr. Dunlap handling the festivities this time and they want nothing to do with it?"

"Oh come on, you're being silly. You're pretty popular around here on Earth-Mewni."

"Marco, please. These people may all _know_ me but that doesn't mean they're _like_ me. You said it yourself: racism and bigotry are still pretty damn prevalent in the world, and I'm not really up for reigniting any harsh flames over the holiday break. I want to get this right."

"And we will. With us working together _and_ our folks chipping in, we're gonna make this the best party ever."

"Yeah, so just hang tight, kid. We've got it under control." Janna reassured her.

"Thanks, guys." Star took another deep breath. "What now?"

"Why don't we just turn our brains off the rest of the night and chill. There's a holiday movie marathon going on tonight on the public cable channel."

"Now _that's_ a good idea." Star ran over to her closet and rummaged through it, pulling out a smaller plug-in television. "We can watch it in my room with this. It's nowhere near as big as the ones Marco has or even _my_ folks have in their room, but-"

"Hey, long as it gets color & sound, it works."

"I'll whip up us some snacks!" Marco declared, racing out of the room towards the kitchen.

* * *

The TV was hooked up, everyone was changed into their pajamas, and there was a bounty of snacks and beverages for them to dine on for the next. They all cozied up against the foot of Star's bed close to each other - sitting in this order from left to right: Janna, Tom, Jackie, Star, and Marco - and turned on the TV, ready for an all-night movie marathon. This movies in question? Cheesy, silly Christmas love-fests (**similar to the ones the Hallmark Channel does every year**). For the first couple of movies or so, things seem to go by quietly and uneventfully, with just the five friends cuddling close to each other, chomping on the freshly made snacks thanks to Marco, and riffing loudly on the silly scenes they were watching.

Right as the second movie ended and the credits began rolling, Marco stood up and headed for the door. "Gotta use the bathroom, be right back." He ran out quickly before anyone could say anything. This meant that Star would have at least a solid five minutes without while sitting right next to Jackie, and as soon as this thought sunk into her head, she began blushing hard again, trying her best to hide it from her. She hoped some casual conversation would break her tension.

"So...Earth has some really weird Christmas movies, don't they?" She said about as awkwardly as one could say any sentence. But it didn't seem to faze Jackie as she reached for some of Marco's cheesy nachos.

"Just wait until you see the Valentine's Day ones." She leered towards her with a smirk. "Those are even _cheesier_. Pun intended." For whatever reason, Jackie's terrible pun got a loud, raucous laugh from Star. Whether it was because she thought is was genuinely funny or because she was trying to cover up whatever feelings were bubbling up in her was unclear, but Jackie found it amusing and laughed along, unconsciously wrapping her arm around Star's shoulder in the process. While it didn't faze Jackie, Star realized it immediately but continued laughing so as to not arose any suspicion. Needless to say, her blush only got stronger, getting herself just a little bit closer to her.

"When did you get to be such a comedian?" Star finally puffed out, to which Jackie shrugged. Star's laughter finally petered out as Marco walked back into the room and took his place right next to her, which caused her, in a moment of reaction, to kiss him passionately. And while he appreciated the kiss, the sudden nature of it made him suspicious. So, mission failed, Star. Of course, it wasn't like he didn't have a good idea of what was going on anyway.

The night continued on, with more cheesy films playing on their TV and the snacks being devoured by the lot. More laughs were had as eventually the kids just stopped paying attention to the TV altogether and started chatting with each other, telling stories about past Christmases or holidays.

"When I was 5, my parents said I could put the star on top of our tree for the first time." Marco recounted. "So they lifted me up to the top of the tree and I tried to put it on, but I dropped it and it fell through the tree and the whole tree fell over and smashed some of our furniture." His story got a major laugh out of everyone. "To this day I _refuse_ to ever try that again."

"Diaz, could you _be_ any more of a derp?" Janna quipped.

"Challenge accepted." Was his response, which got even more laughs from them.

"When I was in 4th grade..." It was Jackie's turn to tell a story. "One of my classmates got me a skateboard for Christmas. Because - you're gonna love this - he thought I was a boy." This revelation of hers drew stunned silence from all of them. Literally the only noise that could be heard was the sound of the TV.

"Um...say that again." Marco said fast, still quite dumbfounded.

Jackie shrugged. "He always talked to me like I was one of his "bro dudes" and I didn't really figure out why until that day. Joke's on him, though, I turned out to be a pretty damn good skater."

"I'll toast to that!" Star shouted right away without a hint of hesitation, which instantly drew confused looks from everyone, even Jackie. "What? Have you _seen_ her skate?" This time, though, she did a much better job of covering herself. "Girl's got moves, is all I'm saying."

Whatever thoughts she had on Star's previous comments, she brushed them off and smiled at her compliments. "Thanks, Star. You're not half bad yourself."

"Well I had a great teacher." She gently but awkwardly nudged her arm with her elbow, chuckling about twice as awkwardly. (**A/N: Oh yeah, another detail that'll be established in "Ballad of Earth-Mewni: Star learns how to skate thanks to Jackie.**)

The night continued on pretty much like this: minimal attention to the movies on the TV and just casual chatting with each other while they devoured Marco's snacks.

* * *

At some point during the very early morning, everyone finally crashed & fell asleep on the floor. It didn't even matter that nobody thought to get them some pillows or blankets, they all just crashed where they were and that was the end of it. Of the group, Star was the first to awaken; she stirred around in her sleep and slowly opened her eyes. The first thing her blurry vision caught sight of was Marco, cuddling right next to her with his arms wrapped around her waist. She smiled and gently pecked his lips, returning the hug for the what seemed like forever. He was always such a sweetheart with her, and every little thing like this that she did made her remember why she fell in love with him and why someday she _was_ going to be Mrs. Butterfly-Diaz.

When she finally parted, she started to help herself up, but as she got into a sitting position, her vision took her over to Jackie, who was slumbering right next to Star, lightly snoring, and flat on her stomach. As slowly as Star's blush went away over the night, it came right back just as quickly as her gaze slowly went to her rear end. But before it went any further, she shook her head violently and stood up, heading out the door and towards her own bathroom.

There she splashed hot water on her face and tried to calm herself down. For her, this was the exact wrong time for this to be happening. And for it to be _this_ strong? She didn't want to cause any trouble, but running from your emotions? That's exactly what got Star into so much trouble over the years, and holding them in is what forced her fists through a glass mirror just six and a half months earlier.

After a moment of silent contemplation, she took a deep breath and returned from the bathroom to her room, where everyone was still asleep. She returned to her spot right next to Marco, wrapped her arms around him again, and let herself drift off to sleep again. It was way too early to be awake, anyways.

**End of Chapter 3!**

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Things are going to get quite interesting in the coming chapters, especially in the dynamic between Star and Jackie. Yes, I'm taking the whole "Star is bisexual" thing and running with it. And why not?**

**As I've previously mentioned there's going to be a _fourth_ post-cleaved fic planned entitled "The Ballad of Earth-Mewni." I can't give a timetable as to when that'll be up and running, but hopefully it won't be too long from now. The current problem is I have an episode idea jotted down but I'm not really feeling it and I'm debating if I should just make it a separate one shot (or two shot). If you have any suggestions feel free to let me know.**

**As always, please read & review! Circulate the links! :)**


	4. Beginning Preparations

**Star vs The Forces of Evil**

**Beautiful Christmas**

**Disclaimer: _Star vs The Forces of Evil_ was created by Daron Nefcy and is owned by Disney. I own no part of _Star vs_.**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Beginning Preparations**

**Original Postdate: October 31, 2019**

* * *

**17 days until Christmas Eve**

A few days passed; the earlier stages of prepping for the Christmas party had begun. While construction on the party site in the park was underway, Star took it upon herself to take an extra initiative. After getting the proper paperwork in order, she headed to the local pet shelter to visit with Hilda, explaining the situation to her while they gave the pets a bath.

"You got us a table at the Christmas party?"

"That's right! You can bring all of these unadopted animals to the party. There's gonna be like hundreds of people there, I'm sure some of them are going to be looking to adopt a kitty or pupper."

"Now how'd you manage to pull that off?"

"I know how to sweet talk." Star snickered, proud of her accomplishment.

"Hon, that's mighty sweet of you. But do you really think anyone's gonna be in the mood to be adopting this holiday season?"

She shrugged. A fair question, and one that she feared the answer to. "I suppose it's possible they won't be, but we're not gonna know unless we try, right? And what better way than a wide open setting where hundreds of people are going to be partying like this world's never seen!?"

"You sure drive a hard bargain, little lady. Alright then, I'll make sure we have someone down there for the party."

"That's m-wait, 'someone?' What about _you_? Don't _you_ want to be a part of the celebration?"

Hilda shrugged her shoulders. "I guess...but it might be a little awkward for me. I..."

"Don't celebrate Christmas?" The instantaneous response from Star, coupled with her smile, caught Hilda completely off guard. "That's okay. I still want you to be there. This year, _nobody_'s getting left out, no matter what you celebrate."

She chuckled at Star's ambitions. Innocent, yet a fiery resolve she knew was unmatched by anyone in Echo Creek. "So you really _are_ doing the heavy lifting this year, huh?"

"Well, not just me. My awesome friends are pitching in to make this party extra special. If I'm gonna pull this all off by Christmas Eve, I'm going to need all the help I can get." They finished bathing all of the animals and put them back into their respective cages. "That reminds me: I should get going. Got a lot of stops to make today. So, will I see you there?"

Hilda sighed. "I'll think about it."

"I'll take that!" Star turned and started to bolt for the door. "See ya later!"

Her next stop was towards the local orphanage. While she was playing with the children, she was explanation her situation to them, offering them a table at the party to showcase their children up for adoption. Just like with Hilda, both Reggie & Greta saw the logic of this arrangement. But also like Hilda, they were apprehensive about committing to it.

"I thought there wasn't going to _be_ a Christmas party this year." Reggie said to her.

"There wasn't going to be. Not at first."

"How did _you_ manage to convince Mr. Dunlap to let you take care of everything?"

"I have my ways." She snickered. "And isn't it great? This place is gonna get its own table, and everyone there will get a chance to see all of these pwecious widdle gems being all cute and cuddly..." A few of the kids tried to climb Star like she was a mountain. They all laughed at the visual. "And maybe they'll finally get their forever homes."

"That would be wonderful." Greta jumped in. "Some of these children have been here for years." She gestured to the children on Star's right shoulder, the one with Down Syndrome. His name was Miles.

"Aww, poor Miles." Star kissed his forehead and nuzzled her cheek against his. "Don't worry, you'll get your home. I just know it. And hey, you'll get to learn all about other holidays. Doesn't that sound like fun?"

Both Greta and Reggie exchanged looks to each other, then to Star. "What's that mean, deary?"

"Oh, I didn't even spoil the best part: this year, we're going _all-inclusive_. Celebrate Christmas? Come on down! Hannukah? Join the party! Kwanzaa? Open arms!"

"What about Leif Erikson day!?" Reggie shouted enthusiastically, drawing the attention of Greta, Star, and the little children. Though the little children lost interest just as fast and went back to using Star like she was a plaything.

"I'm like 99% sure that's not a real holiday but on the off chance it is, _WELCOME!_" Star's cheering caused the kids to start cheering, even though they had no idea what they were cheering for. "I'll keep you guys posted on details!" She helped the kids off of her person and gave them all goodbye kisses. "I gotta go!" She took off for the door quickly, waving goodbye to everyone, who all happily cheered & waved back.

* * *

Star's next stop afterwards was to the Echo Creek park, where she got a look at how everything was coming along. Construction on the party was well underway. Significant progress was already being made everywhere. A gigantic stage set in the middle of the entire park was already under construction. Tables scattered all over the park - two for the pet shelter & the orphanage showcases, and the rest for food, games, entertainment, etcetera - were being brought in. In addition to her friends & loved ones, a few straggler monsters, including the likes of Buff Frog & children as well as Ludo & cousin Dennis, and a few random townsfolk came about to help with preparations.

"Put the karaoke machine in the first quadrant!" Star instantly jumped into the fray, wasting no time getting herself organized and in prime condition to be directing the traffic. "Keep the giant Christmas Tree, Kinara, & Menorah separated! Spread them out!" In came several people with table spreads, all diverse in representing the three big December holidays. "Okay, just find a table & lay those on!"

It was clear that Star had a solid handle on everything that was going on. Though progress was a bit slow, so far there had been no significant set backs of any kind, an encouraging sign for her. Marco approached her, carrying a bunch of supplies. "So far so good."

"Yep. Still got a long way to go but I like where we're going." It seems like nobody ever taught Star the Cardinal Rule of Earth: don't ever mention how good things are going, because things will always turn sour almost instantaneously. Once again that rule panned out exactly as at that moment, Star caught glimpse of some potential infighting beginning to stir near the tables among some of the workers. "Spoke too soon." She raced over to the area of the conflict. "Hey hey hey, guys...what's the problem?"

"Don't you see it?" One of them holding a Christmas-style table cover said, gesturing to the worker next to him holding a Hanukkah-styled table cover. "That's a Hanukkah decoration, _not_ a Christmas decoration!"

"...so?"

The Christmas worker was dumbfounded. "What?"

"Yeah, so it's a Hanukkah decoration." She pointed to another guy standing beside him. "And he's got a Kwanzaa table cover. What's the big deal?"

"This is a _Christmas_ party! It's in the name."

Star, clearly unamused and unmoved by his protests, crossed her arms and glared. "It's a Christmas party _by default_. But we're changing things up this year. It's gonna be the best party ever and _everyone_ is invited!"

The Christmas worker began stammering, with the Hannukah and Kwanzaa worker both taking a step back. "It...it's a _Christmas_ party! What part of that don't you understand? Besides, do you _really_ think Mr. Dunlap's going to let you get away with this?"

"_Let her?_" Came a voice from behind Star. Turns out it was Mr. Dunlap himself, who confidently took Star's shoulders, much to the Christmas worker's surprise. "Who do you think put her in charge of this party?"

"W-Well, yeah, but we all know you're not thinking straight, I mean you suffered through a bad personal loss and all."

Wow. Rude much? Star's jaw hit the ground. Mr. Dunlap looked like he was about to clock him. "You know, if I had the authority to fire your butt I'd do it."

"You...technically _do_." Mr. Dunlap reminded her.

"Yeah but I can't fire someone just for saying something I don't like." She leaned in to whisper to him. "_That's why I'm gonna spit in his lunch later."_

"I heard that..." The Christmas worker said.

"Alright enough chit chat, back to work." Mr. Dunlap said firmly. The other two works complied happily. The Christmas worker smirked and complied with a clear hint of contempt on his face, leaving Star and Mr. Dunlap by themselves.

"What are you doing here?" She asked him once they were gone. "I thought you weren't up for any of this party planning this year?"

He shrugged. "I couldn't stay away." He admitted. "Too many memories doing this for so long."

"You don't have a problem with me, uh-"

"Expanding your pool of party people?" He shook his head and smiled. "Not at all."

"So how come _you_ never did it?"

"Honestly? We just never thought to do it. Didn't occur to either of us."

"Huh. Well, that's kind of a shame."

He shrugged again. "I guess. But I think everything's gonna work out. The festivities have been needing fresh blood for a while now, anyway. And by the looks of it, you're doing a great job keeping up the tradition."

"Aww, thank you." She blushed. "It's still early, though. Plenty of time for things to go wrong. But I've got a good team behind me." She looked over at the stage area, where currently Marco & Jackie were residing. Marco was putting up lights, and Jackie was helping finish the structure of the stage. "Careful, Marco! Don't let those lights hit your cute face!" She said with a blush, blowing a kiss to him. She turned her attention to Jackie. "Looking good, Jackie! And the stage don't look half bad either!" She said with a giggle and another blush, none of this getting past Mr. Dunlap.

"...Nice catch." He said with somewhat of a proud smile.

"Thanks." She replied quickly. It wasn't until after she looked back at him that she realized he was referring to Jackie, not Marco. "Oh no no no, it's the boy." She blew another kiss to Marco and waved, inadvertently showing off the promise ring on her ring finger. "See? He gave me this promise ring."

"Oh, how nice." He gazed at the ring and smiled. "So...who's the girl, then?"

Star blushed as soon as he mentioned Jackie, and once she realized she was blushing, it only made her blush harder. In a huff, she turned around and started to walk in a different direction. "You know what I'm tired of this conversation." She said quickly, trying - and failing - to cover herself. Meanwhile Mr. Dunlap caught sight of one of the big statues - the Kinara - was about to be toppled over.

"**_HEY!_**" He shouted. "You drop that kinara I'll drop-kick your face!" He slowly stomped over to the area in question as the workers struggled to hold it up.

* * *

As the time passed, more and more of the set for the park began to fall into place. But as the party slowly got built up, so did tensions by people working on the preparations. More than once arguments between people broke out. Most of these arguments stemmed over the idea of a _Christmas_ party incorporating Hanukkah and Kwanzaa themes, decorations, and traditions. Some of the arguments ultimately settled themselves. Others forced Star to intervene either verbally or by physically restraining some of the workers. It was starting to devolve, with Star attributing it partially to racial undertones and partially to fatigue from the long work day. Star made it no secret to the people she entrusted the work with that breaks were mandatory and essential. She learned from experience, after all.

While studying the field to see where she could help next, she was interrupted by the sound of Buff Frog, some of his children, Ludo, and Dennis carrying a very large stump into the park, having to set it down close to Star to catch their breath. "Buff Frog? Ludo? What's going on?"

"We've brought our very own stump!" Ludo declared. "You know, for Stump Day!"

"There is...Stump Day, is not?" Buff Frog asked, drawing a nervous chuckle from Star.

"Um...guys, I don't think we're going to be celebrating Stump Day this year." Star said sheepishly. "It's left kind of a bad taste in all of our mouths, and I don't really like it, and nobody's really up for it, so...no."

"...no Stump Day?" Dennis asked.

"Nope. I'm sorry if you were looking for-"

"**_Oh thank goodness!_**" Ludo shouted, having Dennis & Buff Frog joined in shortly after. "We **_hated_** Stump Day! Some of the worst memories of my life! Do you know how frustrating it is constantly spending every Stump Day fretting over whether the precious "stump" will be appeased and not try to kill your family!?"

"Oh dude I totally feel you. Try having a birthday on Stump Day and having to put _that_ aside so the Stump doesn't think you're disrespecting it."

The knowledge of her birthday being on the dreaded Stump Day was not common knowledge. Only a select few people, mainly her family & circle of friends, even knew this fact. So hearing it for the first time jolted a shock to Buff Frog & Ludo. "Your birthday is on Stump Day!?"

"Yup. And it turns out that Stump Day happens to be on Christmas Eve...go figure." She sheepishly chuckled again. "Funny. I've only ever had _one_ proper birthday party...w-when my boyfriend Marco threw me a party last year. In retrospect I probably should've done a better job explaining the whole Stump Day thing to him..."

"Only _one_ birthday party in your entire life?" Ludo in particular was dumbfounded, which took Buff Frog by surprise. "That's completely unacceptable!"

His outrage took both Buff Frog & Star by surprise. "Ludo, relax, it's not that big of a dea-"

"Not that big of a deal? Of course you'd say that, that's what the monarchy _taught_ you to say! Well the monarchy is no more, and apparently neither is Stump Day so who cares!?"

Buff Frog rushed in to help ease Ludo's tension. "Easy, friend. Is not worth your anger."

Ludo sighed loudly in agreement. "Yes, I suppose you're right. I need to cool down." He turned around in a huff and ran the other way. Buff Frog and his children followed, leaving Star by herself. The display of rage towards her revelation left her reeling, contemplating the ramifications. At least briefly. She ultimately decided she had more important fish to fry and took off to find her friends, as they all reconvened near the stage.

"How does it look so far?" Marco asked her.

"We still got plenty a ways to go, but so far so good." Star said, giving a quick survey of the park around her. "I just hope we can get this done in time & it goes off without a hitch. I'm already seeing tension about the whole "Let's-Include-Both-Hanukkah-And-Kwanzaa-Into-The-Festivities" thing."

"People will find _anything_ to complain about, no matter how trivial or idiotic." Janna huffed, crossing her arms in a clearly annoyed fashion.

"Yeah I wouldn't worry too much about those people. They're not worth the headache." Jackie agreed. "Besides for every _one_ person that's like there's at least three that couldn't care less about getting mad over it."

"As long as we can get this all done by Christmas Eve, I don't care how many people are whiny. Okay..." She clasped her hands and turned to her boyfriend. "Is there anything else we need?"

"I've been doing some thinking..." Marco pulled out a pen and pad. "We're gonna need _lots_ of food, some good entertainment, and to spread the word of this party as far across town as we can if we want to maximize attendance. So I was thinking _I'll_ take the cooking with my folks. They love to cook for parties. Janna and Tom, you guys could handle the entertainment."

"Oh, dude, you have no idea what you've just done." Janna said enthusiastically. "_This_ is my sweet spot. I _only_ deliver top-notch for my clients."

"They have to be _conscious_ this time, Janna."

What did he just say? Tom sure wanted to know, but he was shut down by Star. "Don't ask."

"And Star, that leaves you and Jackie to handle the PR." Marco continued. "We gotta reach every corner of this town and get as many people to come as we can. You think you can handle that?"

"Ooh, that's perfect!" Jackie expressed immediate delight at the details, intriguing Star. "You've got the _perfect_ sales pitch personality, and I've got the equipment to pull it all off!" Jackie eagerly wrapped an arm around Star's shoulder and pulled herself close to her so that their cheeks almost touched, causing the girl to violently blush. "You ready for this?"

"Am I ever!" She shouted instantly as she too wrapped her arm around Jackie's shoulder. "Let's meet up tomorrow at your place to brainstorm!"

"I like the way you think. Get there bright and early, we're gonna need all the time we can get."

Star gasped and her eyes lit up, though she got herself under control quickly to not arise suspicion from anyone other than Marco. "Yeah, that-that's smart."

"Okay then. We all know our roles. Let's do this!" Marco led the group of friends into an enthusiastic cheer before the majority of them broke off to go their separate ways. Only Star & Marco remained, and Star had reservations about Marco pairing her up with Jackie.

"Marco...are you sure?" She asked him.

"About...?"

She scoffed. "You know what I'm talking about."

Marco smiled warmly. "Yeah, I'm sure."

The girl began to rub her arm in discomfort, blushing and barely looking him in the eye. "You're not weirded out?"

And in response, he embraced her, pecking her cheek. "When you're ready to talk about it, we'll talk about it." She returned the embrace and gave him an even harder kiss, almost as a 'thank you' for his efforts. Marco didn't try to hide that he knew Star was crushing on Jackie. But he wasn't about to shame her for it. Ever since Star realized she was bisexual she has struggled to cope with everything that came with it, especially when it came to Marco's ex-girlfriend. And it wasn't like she was good at being subtle about it either...at least to Marco. Awkward for her to have an attraction to his ex when she was already madly in love with Marco. But the boy knew there was no nefarious intent behind these emotions and was more than prepared to help her work through them as she needed.

For now, though, their focus was on the Christmas party. There was only so much time left to get everything done.

**End of Chapter 4!**

**Happy Halloween everyone! I'm looking to have this story done before Christmas - obviously to tie into the holiday - but don't quote me on that. Things here are _veeeery_ hectic at the moment.**

**As for "Ballad of Earth-Mewni" I want to get at least one chapter out per month, but again, don't hold me to that.**

**But as always, please read & review!**


	5. Internal Interrogation

**Star vs The Forces of Evil**

**Beautiful Christmas**

**Disclaimer: _Star vs The Forces of Evil_ was created by Daron Nefcy and is owned by Disney. I own no part of _Star vs_.**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Internal Interrogation**

**Original Postdate: November 3, 2019**

* * *

**16 days until Christmas Eve**

The following morning, Star found herself up and anxious for the day to begin. Knowing she'll get to spend at minimum the entire day with Jackie working on their PR plan for the party perked her up in a big way. Early in the morning - before the sun even rose and before Marco was even up - she dressed herself, kissed his forehead, and raced out of his bedroom all the way over to Jackie's house. With the snow having mostly melted for the time being, it made for an easy trek to her place. She stepped towards her front door, taking a moment to collect herself before knocking on her front door. Her nerves were frayed as she waited eagerly. The time never once dawn on her. That is until she finally heard a voice.

"Star?"

The girl looked upwards, towards the direction of the sound, and realized that it was Jackie, who was still half-asleep and still in her pajamas peering out of her window. The mere sight of the girl got Star blushing. "Hi Jackie!"

"Girl, what the heck are you doing here so early?"

Star began surveying her surroundings, realizing exactly what was going on. She then pulled out her phone to check the time. Not even 7 AM. "...oops. Sorry, Jackie. Guess I was just really excited to get going."

"When are you ever _not_ excited?"

"Whenever corn is involved." Her answer got the both of them to laugh for a good minute. "Oh, you think I'm kidding."

Jackie briefly retreated back into her room before returning with a key and tossed it down to Star. "Catch!" Star caught it with ease. "I am _not_ a morning person."

"Oh neither am I. With _some_ exceptions..."

"Look, why don't you make yourself comfortable for a bit? I wanna knock out for a little longer." She smiled at Star before closing her window and returning to her bed.

"Oh, uh, thanks Jackie!" Star began to blush as she took the key and let herself in. The inside of Jackie's house was quite pleasant. A simple living room with a couch and nice television connected to a kitchen with a hallway leading to a staircase which itself led upstairs to the bedrooms - Jackie's and her parents. Suddenly Star got the idea that she was going to cook a nice breakfast for her and Jackie. She had the free time, and she thought her folks would at least appreciate not having to worry about breakfast. So she went straight for the kitchen and got to work.

* * *

About an hour later, Jackie finally came downstairs, still half-asleep, only to find several plates of breakfast all piping hot and ready to go for them. The sight of said breakfast dishes caught her off guard and jolted her awake. "S-Star?"

Star waved nervously to the beautiful girl standing in front of her, trying and failing to hide her returning blush. "Hiya, sleepy head! Surprise!"

Jackie slowly walked over to the table. The breakfast in question? Sweet Crepes with Caramelized Pears with sides of French Toast sticks and freshly poured glasses of chocolate milk. "Wow...I gotta say this looks _delicious_."

"My cooking skills have come a _long_ way this year." She responded, visibly proud of her accomplishment. "It isn't much, but I figured...you know, _Crepes_ are a french type of food and, well, you're pretty well versed in France because of Chloe, and-" Star began stammering as her blush got even stronger. "And French Toast is, well, French. I guess? I never know, what's the difference between French Toast and regular Toa-" Jackie casually walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder, instantly stopping her rambling. "Sorry." Star then pulled a chair out for Jackie to sit before pulling up a chair for herself to sit right next to her, barely any space between them.

Jackie took the first bite of the food and was instantly tantalized by the taste. "Oh my gosh, these crepes are _terrific!_" She then took a bite out of one of the French Toast sticks. "And this French Toast is just to die for!"

"Nailed it!" Star gave herself a congratulatory fist pump. The two laughed together as they dug into their breakfast. A few moments of peaceful quiet passed as they were both enamored by the remarkable taste of the meal. But someone _had_ to break the silence at some point, and that person ended up being Star. "How _is_ Chloe, by the way?"

Jackie stopped eating for a moment to ponder the question. "She's doing well. She went back to France to see her family for the holidays. She'll be back in time for the party."

"That's great!" Star squealed. She couldn't fool anyone, she was genuinely happy to hear that news. Though she was internally struggle with the idea of having a crush on Jackie, she knew that it wasn't the kind that would see her try to interfere with what she had with Chloe. Her crush on Jackie was merely physical. She wasn't sure if that made the situation better or worse, but she was at least entirely at peace with that fact. "I'm really happy for you guys. You're so cute together."

Now it was Jackie's turn to blush. "Aww, thanks. She _is_ awesome." She responded, gently tugging Star's shoulder. What Star didn't realize was that Jackie was completely aware of the fact that she had feelings for her. Subtly was not Star's strong suit in this regard, and Jackie had actually become skilled in picking up hints like this. She also was aware that Marco had a good idea about it and specifically went out of his way to give Star some time alone with her. He was such a sweetheart in always thinking about her like that.

Jackie wasn't aware of the _extent_ of Star's feelings for her, and she wasn't ready at the moment to confront her with it. Rather, she chose to let things play out and see how it all went. She wasn't going to hurt Star's feelings regardless of what ended up happening. "So..." Star said. "Any ideas?"

"Mmm-hmm." Jackie finished the bite she was eating and chocolate milk she was sipping before continuing. "I've got like my own little office in my room. It's got everything we need for our little PR campaign."

"Ooh, your own office. Sounds enticing!"

"It is! Wanna come see?"

"Do I!?" So they finished their breakfast, cleaned up their dishes, and went up to Jackie's room. Indeed, near the window on the other side, right next to her bed, sat a computer with triple-screens with a large printer/scanner. A simple set out that allowed for a _lot_ of great work to be done. "Oh that is _so _cool!" Star exclaimed.

"Right!? I got it for Christmas last year!" They both approached the computer and got right to work. "Okay, first we're gonna need a kick-butt poster..."

About an hour and a few hundred printed papers later, they had step one of their day's plan completed. Several hundred posters printed out all screaming 'Wonderful Holiday Cheer' on every inch of paper. "Looking good..." Star marveled at the work they had managed to accomplish.

"Oh totally. Buuuuut I think we're gonna need to do more than just hang posters all over the place."

"Did you have something in mind?"

"We've gotta make a viral video. The internet is _everything_ on Earth. It's pretty much how people stay in touch these days. If we wanna reach the maximum audience, we have to go where their eyes lie."

"I like the way you think."

"My dad's got a whole bunch of filming equipment we can borrow. You think you can handle that?"

"Don't you underestimate me, Lynn Thomas." Star teased. "I an not afraid to put this bubbly face on camera and make a fool of myself. I do it all the time with Marco."

"That's just _one_ reason why people love ya, girl."

Star gasped jokingly. "Oh, Jackie, you're too kind." Star blushed and looked away. "But don't sell yourself short, girl. You're like _the_ most popular girl in Echo Creek. And for a _lot_ of good reasons..." Star's ability to conceal her feelings was starting to wain, and though she wasn't showing it, Jackie was already caught on.

"Why thank you, Star." And now she was teasing her. "Come on, let's go hang these posters up." So Jackie led Star and the hundreds of posters they printed out to her home's garage, where inside sat some of her skateboards as well as a few pairs of roller blades. "Good thing the snow's melting. Means I get to break this bad boy out again." Jackie picked up one of her skateboards and started suiting up her helmet and elbow/knee pads. "Not often I get to skateboard in the winter season."

"Oh shoot, I _knew_ I forgot something!" Star lamented. "I left my board at home."

"No worries, you can ride with me."

Star's eyes lit up and her face again went red. "Oh! Um...a-are you sure?" Jackie shrugged but gave off a smile. "Okay. Thanks!" She took the posters with her and got on the board with Jackie, carefully wrapping one arm around her waist while using the other to hold the posters.

"Good?"

"Mmm-hmm."

"Then let's go!"

* * *

So they went off. With Jackie's skateboarding skills they managed to hit many popular places around Echo Creek, including Echo Creek Academy, the Stop & Slurp, Britta's Tacos, the Hill-Tank Plaza, etcetera. Hundreds upon hundreds of posters were put up everywhere they could think of, and it didn't take long for them to start garnering attention. Every time they finished up at one location, they found themselves hounded with several questions about the party by locals who had no idea it was even happening. The answers drew a mix of reactions from the locals, hyper enthusiasm about the party at best, morbid curiosity about the festivities at worst. Still, there was no active malice or vile held against the concepts described for the party, so that was already a step in the right direction.

A few hours of poster-promoting and Star & Jackie found themselves tuckered out, stopping at a nearby park bench for a brief respite. Snow was starting to fall again. "Feels like we've been at it forever." Star said, softly huffing. "But at least we finally got all of those posters up."

"Now to just make that video campaign and we're good to go." Jackie chimed in. "That should be fun."

"You said it!" They both shared a high-five, then took some time to silently observe their surroundings. Star's eyes became fixated on the shops in front of her, some having Christmas decorations, others having Hanukkah decorations. She took note of the people that went into each of the stores, staring intently and nearly getting lost in her thoughts before being shaken by Jackie.

"Star?" The sudden shaking startled her, eliciting a scream. "You okay?"

"Oh, yeah, totally." She said back. "I just kinda got lost in my thoughts for a bit."

"What were you thinking about?"

"Well...lots of stuff, but..." She sighed, contemplating her next words. "Yesterday I ran into one of the volunteers and he started complaining about us bringing in decorations for the Hanukkah and Kwanzaa holidays. Seemed pretty angry about it too. Like the idea of a different winter holiday was viscerally offensive to him."

"You'd be surprised how many people are like that." Jackie responded. "There's people that feel that way about...well...just about anything. _Especially_ when it comes to religious aspects like this."

"I've _never_ understood how religion is supposed to work." Star admitted. "Like...why does every religion have a different depicting of their deity? Why do they all have different celebrations & traditions? It's impossible to keep track of it all." Jackie shrugged. "And _this _is what people think is worth getting so angry, petty, and vindictive about?"

"You don't know the half of it. It can be exhausting at times. That's why me and my folks don't even bother. It's not worth the headache, and it's impossible to know one way or another what the "right" answer is. There's just too much uncertainty."

"But...do you believe there's-"

"Oh, I do. I'm a firm believer in things happening for a reason. And just because...we can't see them...doesn't mean they're not _out_ there."

"Huh. So you guys are agnostic theists."

"We...we're what?"

"Oh that just means you believe in a higher deity but you don't claim that you're all knowing about it. I used to get agnostic & atheist confused all the time."

Jackie remained silent for a brief moment, allowing Star's statement to sink in. "Huh...you learn something new every day."

"Sure do. And nothing about this would be so bad if people just didn't get so uppity about this crap. I mean jeez, I didn't realize that apparently "being a good person" isn't as straight forward as it sounds. Apparently you have to be of a certain race or skin color _and_ celebrate certain religions or holidays in order to be considered worthy of being treated as an equal. It's just so ludicrously stupid."

"You're preaching to the choir, sister."

"You know it would just be _so_ easy to let all of this go and not worry about any of it...just let it be someone else's problem. But it feels like we've been doing that for too long with too many things. It felt like that on Mewni, and it feels like that here."

Jackie patted her shoulder lightly. "You know you can't do it all by yourself."

"Sure, I know that _now_. I know that this party isn't going to just magically solve anything. When I was a princess, I tried to throw this big monster bash to unite all the Mewmans and monsters together, hoping they could co-exist. I kinda thought doing that would just make everything better and solve all the problems, but...it didn't. It did get better over time, but not all the way. Heck even _now_ when we've been cleaved for, what, six months? There's still lingering tensions. That's why I'm _done_ trying to do the big hero things and trying to solve _everything_. One person can't do it alone and _shouldn't_ do it alone. But hey, if this party can liven people's spirits for just a day? Then it's worth doing!"

"That't the spirit!" Jackie extended her fist towards her, offering a fist bump, which Star happily returned.

"Hey, what do you say we go grab the others and get them in on this viral video? What's the point of being goofballs on camera if you can't be goofballs with your friends?"

"That's the best idea I've heard all day!" They both sat up from the bench and situated themselves back on the skateboard.

"Thanks for listening, by the way."

"Don't mention it. We all have your back, Star." They set off to find their friends, hoping to pull them from their activities and rope them into theirs.

* * *

Later that night, after a _very_ long day of filming and antics, the kids (while also babysitting Meteora and Mariposa) all sat in Star's room, watching their creation on his laptop and laughing their heads off. It was by far the silliest and most nonsensical thing they had ever done together, but they all had a fantastic time with it, and for them that was all that mattered. "This is so _stupid!"_ Tom said in the middle of heaving laughter.

"Where did you get those sunglasses!?" Janna remarked, noting the silly sunglasses Jackie & Star were seen to be wearing in the video.

"You should _see_ my closet." Jackie jokingly replied, getting more laughs from them.

"You think this'll be enough?" Tom asked.

"Maybe it won't be. But hey we gave it our best shot. Now we just have to let the chips fall. All we can do now is focus on the party setup. We don't have much time left. Let's reconvene at the park tomorrow."

"I agree with Star." Marco chimed in.

"Of course you do, Diaz." Janna lovingly joked, lightly punching his arm before standing up. "I better get home."

"Yeah, me too. My folks are having a big family reunion dinner in the Underworld and I can't afford to miss it." Tom said, he and Janna starting for the door, arms interlocked.

"Ooh, you gonna bring Janna along?" Star teased. It was only now that the two noticed their arms were even interlocked, but despite the embarrassment, they didn't separate.

"In my defense, I'm a sucker for all things demonic." Janna tried to cover herself. "Generally. It has nothing to do with Tom."

"Really?" And Tom was all too ready to tease her right back. "Cuz my mom won't shut up about you."

Even though she _knew_ he was teasing, she still went red in the face and jabbed him playfully with her elbow, eliciting laughs from the other three as they waved them goodbye.

"I better go too." Now it was Jackie's turn to leave. "Today was awesome! Thanks for your help, Star." She reached out to fist bump her, which Star gladly returned.

"Anytime!" She managed to shout to her after some flustering, just before Jackie had stepped out of the room. Jackie closed the door behind her, leaving Star & Marco - and the two infants - alone in the room. Star stood up and grabbed a pillow off of her bed and loudly screamed into it. The screaming elicited not a worried cry from the babies but rather raucous laughter, which in turn got laughter from both Marco and then Star. "Such cuties..."

"You okay?" Marco asked, climbing into the bed with her and hugging her.

"...Not really." She admitted.

"Didn't you have a good day with Jackie?"

"No, I-I did." She nervously rubbed her arm. "That's...that's the problem." And her face was now completely red.

The boy's face fell. "...I thought so." He kissed her cheek and petted her hair. She could barely look him in the eye.

"I thought I was past this, Marco. I thought that whatever attraction I felt for her was gone o-or that I could just push it down and not let it show, but I guess I was wrong. Gah, why does she have to be so dang _hot_!? I mean the whole day I felt like I was sweating bullets a-and my face was red a-and I could barely speak straight and w-we were really close to each other the whole time a-"

"Hey hey hey, don't beat yourself up. It's okay." He helped put both infants down on the bed so he could fully embrace her, kissing her gently. "I promise."

"How can it be okay? I'm not supposed to have a crush on someone when I'm already in a relationship with the greatest guy I've ever known! This is madness!"

"Well, it's not like you want to _go out_ with Jackie, right? I-It's not that kind of crush, is it?" For someone who was being told his girlfriend was having feelings for someone else, Marco was handling it extremely well.

"Oh no no, definitely not. It's strictly and totally physical. Which...I think makes it worse?"

He raised an eyebrow as the two infants tried to use the two teens as mountains to climb on. "What makes you say that?"

Star sighed, took Meteora off of her person and sat her down, and then walked over to her closet, pulling out a long, thin box and bringing it over to the bed. She took the lid off the box and pulled out one of two items that was inside: the first was a black leather jacket - similar to the one Jackie already owned - except this one had a custom made insignia on the back. The name "Jackie Lynn Thomas" with each name etched in a picture of a skateboard.

"Hey, is that your Christmas gift to her?" He asked her; she nodded. "That's pretty neat! I'm sure she'll like that."

"Well yeah, _this_ isn't the problem." She put the leather jacket to the side and then pulled out the other item in the box: a white T-shirt that read on the front "Jackie Lynn 'Bubble Butt' Thomas" in big black letters. "_This_ is."

Marco was left temporarily speechless, internally trying to comprehend what was happening. "Um...okay..."

She sighed and put everything back in the box. "I know," She sighed. "It's bad, isn't it?"

"No no, it's not bad. I promise." He helped her climb back into the bed and embraced her again. "Look, you can't help the way you feel. You're a teenager and this is just what teenagers go through. There's no shame in it."

"Are you sure?" He nodded and pecked her cheek. "Well now I know how you felt watching her from afar for so many years."

"Hormones really are a...wait, what? What are you talking about? It wasn't like that!" He tried and failed to cover himself, his face turning red. "Jackie was just really nice a-and sweet a-and she was the most considerate person that I knew-" Star gently placed a finger over Marco's lips.

"Marco, you know I think the world of you, and I _know_ you're not like those pigs that are only ever interested in girls for their looks and their bodies. You're better than that. But I'm also not that stupid. How long did it take you to finally say _anything_ to her? Seven years?" Again he silently nodded. "Exactly. Jackie's awesome and everything but if you don't actually _talk_ to your crush or even know them on _any_ level, you have to find _something_ to be attracted to, right?" He nodded again, agreeing with the logic presented to him, though blushing again in embarrassment. "Can I ask you a personal question?"

"Go for it."

"...When you and Jackie were dating, did you...did you ever get to..." She looked away and took a deep breath before returning her gaze to him.

"Hold her tush?" He finished her question for her. He shook his head in response. "No, I didn't. But I wanted to. And I did stare at it a lot, especially when we were...close to each other."

"Ooh, nice. Did you like what you saw, cause..."

"Do _you_?" He asked back, which got a quick nervous nod from Star, and then a nod from Marco. "Yeah, I did." He said with a stronger blush. "But don't worry. Yours is way better."

She leaned in forward to give him a passionate kiss. "I love you, Marco. You're such a sweetie. Buuuut I think we both know you're wrong here."

"ashdf-what!?"

"Marco, I'm your girlfriend, and if _I'm_ saying her bubble butt is better than mine, that should tell you something."

Needless to say Marco was not prepared for Star to come out like this. The tension in the room pushed them to break into spontaneous laughter, which also spurned the infants into laughter. "We're insane, aren't we?"

"If this is insane, then I don't want to be normal."

"I hear ya." They both took the infants and stood up, prepared to take the babies back to their respective rooms. They headed for the door. "So...do you want _me_ to talk to Jackie about this, or-"

"No, no that's okay. I'll handle it. I just needed someone to vent to. Thanks for listening." She kissed his cheek again, grateful for his compassionate ear.

"So what should we do now?" They gave back each of the babies to their respective rooms and then made their way back to Star's room.

"I know this'll sound weird after all that, but would you like to...go a round?" They arrived at Star's bed, readying themselves for what was on the way.

"Does it have to be only one?" Luckily for Star, Marco was just as eager to have fun with her as she was with him. They both leaned in, ready to kiss each other again. "Hey...you know you don't have to prove anything to me, right?"

She nodded quietly with a warm smile. "I know."

He returned the smile and kissed her again. "Good." And so they both carefully stripped themselves, grabbed their protection, and climbed under Star's blankets, prepared to let nature take its course.

**End of Chapter 5!**

**As I mentioned, hoping to get this one done before Christmas. As for "Ballad of Earth-Mewni," I'm _looking_ to have at least a monthly schedule with that one. But don't quote me on that. For all I know, chapters could take a week to write, 4 days, or 6 months. It all just depends. But given that that one's looking to be a long-term on-going series with no end-goal currently in sight, it's not a big deal to me, and hopefully you will stick around for the ride.**

**As always, please read & review!**


	6. Sizzling Climax

**Star vs The Forces of Evil**

**Beautiful Christmas**

**Disclaimer: _Star vs The Forces of Evil_ was created by Daron Nefcy and is owned by Disney. I own no part of _Star vs_.**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Sizzling Climax**

**Original Postdate: November 8, 2019**

* * *

**9 days until Christmas Eve**

The next week passed by mostly uneventfully. Party planning went by with little issue, despite a hiccup here or there and an argument scattered every now and then amongst the party volunteers. But it wasn't anything that they couldn't handle. And with just a week and a half left until the Christmas Eve party, it was imperative that they have no major setbacks. The teens all visited the park again where they saw the renovations continuing to go well...for the most part.

Tensions were continuing to rise in sprinkles all around the park, with people & monsters getting into arguments over decorations, religious traditions, etcetera. As a result, at times some of the decorations would start to fall over, forcing the groups to start again. It was all verbal thankfully, but the threat of it escalating to physical always loomed, leaving Star a bit on edge.

"It's gonna be okay, Star." Marco reassured her. "There's still time before the party. Things will surely cool down by then."

"I hope you're right. I do _not_ want a repeat of Stump Day last year." Star shuddered reminiscing about the accursed Stump. "So much animosity."

Jackie appeared visibly confused. "...I'm sorry, _Stump Day_?"

And then Star had a revelation. "Oh that's right! You weren't here for that last year."

"No, that was when I was in France."

"I see. Look I'm gonna be blunt: the less said about Stump Day, the better."

"Agreed."

"Totally." Tom agreed.

"Death to the Stump, that's what I say." Janna firmly said.

"I'll toast to that!" Star quickly peered around the park, surveying the preparations. While they were doing that, over came Moon, River, Eclipsa, Globgor, Rafeal, & Angie to check in. "Hey guys! What do you think of it so far?"

"Oh it looks so festive!" Eclipsa exclaimed happily. "I'm so excited, it's our first real holiday party in over 300 years!"

"Yes, it looks far more pleasing to the eye than all of our previous Stump Day celebrations." Moon admitted. "Thank goodness the Stump's no longer alive to retaliate for that."

"That Stump was always far more trouble than it was _ever_ worth." River agreed, a sternness in his voice not usually found. "But that's all in the past now."

"Exactly! No need to get worked up over it. We just look ahead." Star said with an optimistic grin on her face. While she was smiling, Ludo and Buff Frog passed the group, carrying various set pieces & decorations for the stage. "Hi Buff Frog! Hi Ludo!"

"Hello Young Butterfly" Buff Frog happily greeted back. The two of them put down their decorations in hand temporarily and approached Star, each rummaging through their back pockets and pulling out an item each. Buff Frog pulled out a mini statuette of Star made entirely out of corn. Ludo handed her a rock that had a smiley face crudely drawn on it with marker. "Forgive subpar quality of gifts. Have had no time to properly gift shop."

"Aww, guys, don't be like that." She gently took the gifts from them, touched by the gesture. "These are wonderful. I love them. This little statuette of me is absolutely _to die for_. It's _so_ cute!"

"It was children's idea. So I suppose gift is from all of us."

"Well next time you see your kids tell them I said 'Thank you." She went up to hug Buff Frog, then turned to Ludo, holding the pet rock. "And Ludo, I've always wanted a pet rock." She was clearly just appeasing him, but he appreciated it nonetheless.

"His name is Jeffrey!" Ludo answered joyously.

"Hi Jeffrey!" She hugged the little pet rock before turning back to the two of them. "You guys didn't have to do this for me."

"Nonsense. Everyone should have _something_ to celebrate for their birthday!"

With that one word, the faces of Moon, Rivera, Eclipsa, and Globgor went completely pale. The implications were not good. And the shocked silent expressions were not lost to Buff Frog _or_ Ludo. But Star didn't even notice, as she was still enthralled with the gifts the two of them had bestowed on her. "Well thanks guys. This is so sweet. See, it's _so_ easy for people to be kind to each other! Even if it's just small gestures like this." She took the gifts with her and ran over to another part of the park to check up on decorations, leaving everyone else standing there in an awkward silence.

"So...is it true?" Jackie asked after seemingly forever in silence. "Is it true that Star's never have an actual birthday party?"

The Butterfly family all exchanged looks with each other. Despite the history with the Stump, it was a fact they were actually quite ashamed of. To put a magical, egotistical, debatably sociopathic Stump over their own daughter? Sure, Star was a willing participant, even eagerly embracing the legend of the Stump. But did that make it okay? They all certainly believed it didn't. Then again, given that, unlike other holiday fairytales, the Stump was actually, well, _real_, it did muddy the waters significantly.

"...Yes. It's true." Moon finally said after even more awkward silence. "Her birthday fell on, of all days, the day of the Stump. Which...ironically falls on the day Earth calls "Christmas Eve." Moon was visibly embarrassed recounting this unfortunate fact. "I'm not proud of it, but the Stump required adulation and celebration infinitum lest its wrath be reckoned, and its fury inflicted on its defiant subjects."

"...Doesn't that sound a little extreme?"

"Oh heavens, no, sweetie." Eclipsa intervened. "Not even close..."

Jackie turned her vision to Janna, hoping for some semblance of sanity to prevail. "Normally I'd agree with you, but, uh, no they're totally right. It was an absolute night terror." She said flatly, clearly still annoyed from the events of that fated Stump Day. And sadly for Jackie, not even Marco or Tom could provide any sanity.

"It really is better that you weren't there that night." Tom agreed.

"It was kind of awful." Even Marco got in on it. "Even sadder is that was the day I even tried to _throw_ her a birthday party. In my defense, I didn't even know Stump Day was such a big thing for Mewni! Or that it was on the same day as her birthday! It never came up in conversation!"

Tom encouragingly patted Marco's shoulder. "Your heart was in the right place, dude."

"So it _is_ true..." Ludo interrupted, quite crestfallen. "Star Butterfly has never had a proper birthday party."

The adults shook their heads. "No, I'm afraid not." River conceded.

For Ludo, this was a revelation he simply couldn't accept, for whatever reason. "And you...and you all _let_ it happen!?" The anger in his voice was palpable and it took everybody by surprise. "How could you do that to your only daughter!? You're supposed to be family!"

"**_LUDO_**!" Buff Frog shouted Ludo down. "Stand down! Is not our place to judge."

But Ludo was having none of the talkdown. "POPPYCOCK!"

Which got a snicker from Tom. "_He said poppy_." He whispered to Janna, who was clearly unimpressed.

"Dude, you're a child."

"Ludo, you not know them! Not your business!"

"Don't give me any of that, Buff Frog. I may not be the wisest fish in the sea..."

"_But you're not a fish."_ Marco whispered under his breath.

"But I know about _family_. It's the only certainty you have in this world. Family is _everything_, through the good times _and_ the bad times. Little moments like birthday parties are our way to coming together and celebrating that bond! And yet you all...you've chosen to desecrate it!"

"Chill, dude." Janna said with a smirk and her arms crossed. "These people didn't do it to hurt Star. Or are you saying you don't believe the Stump was real?"

"Of course it was real! My great grandmother had her birthday on the Stump day too! And you know what my family did? They celebrated her birthday. Every single year! It's the one thing my family ever did _right_." He mumbled bitterly while crossing his arms and looking away.

"Ludo, do not hold mistakes of their past against them. It accomplishes nothing." Buff Frog said, hoping to reason with Ludo. "Anger and bitterness only fuels further anger and bitterness. Instead of chastising and re-litigating the past, let us move forward and do right by Butterfly now!"

"You're absolutely right!" River yelled triumphantly, loudly enough for stragglers around the park - including Mr. Dunlap - to overhear them and start convening over by the group. "I say we rally the troops and turn this festival into the most party-rific, rock-kicking birthday party this world has ever seen!"

Moon lovingly patted her husband's shoulder. "Dear, 'party-rific' is not a real word. But I agree with your sentiment. It's time we bury the wretched legend of the Stump once and for all and throw a spectacular birthday party!"

"_Wait, birthday!?_" One of the spectators shouted upon arriving at the group. "Someone's birthday?"

"Uh...erm, _yes_! As a matter of fact, yes! It's our daughter, Star!" Moon explained. "It's her birthday on Christmas Eve."

"Wait, the night of this party?" Mr. Dunlap intervened. "The night of _this_ Christmas party!?"

"Exactly."

The revelation appeared to dumbfound Mr. Dunlap, as well as pretty much everyone else. Star's birthday was a very poorly kept secret, but a secret nonetheless. "Let me tell you something, that girl the other day went on the _longest_ tangent about all of you. Pretty much every minute detail about you people-" Which made Marco go bug-eyed. Oh lord, how much did she tell him? "-down to the color of your underpants."

"Um...including _mine_?" Janna expressed immediate confusion.

"But her birthday?" He shook his head rapidly. "Never a word about that."

"There's good reason for that-"

"Yeah yeah I know about that damn Stump. I swear she could write a novel about it."

"No, she's not much of a writer." Eclipsa chimed in, suddenly gasping with a light bulb going off. "But that _does_ give me an idea..."

"Eclipsa." Moon said sternly to her. "Time and place."

"Right, sorry."

"So are we doing this birthday thing or what!?" One of the other spectators shouted. Turns out this one was the same worker from earlier in the month who complained about having to put up Hanukkah and Kwanzaa decorations at a Christmas party.

"Oh so _now_ you're excited for party planning?" Janna called him out. "Before you were all too eager to whine about your precious _Christmas party_ being _desecrated_ by the likes of menorahs and dreidels and such."

"...well, yeah. Christmas is a sacrilegious holiday whose customs must be obeyed and respected at all times. But birthdays are completely different, there's much more flexibility to do different things for different types of birthday celebrations." He said these sentences with such a straight face that it _almost_ sent everyone into a laughing fit.

"_And you people wonder why we're a laughing stock_." Janna said under her breath.

"Is settled!" Buff Frog announced. "We will turn party into greatest holiday slash birthday celebration Earth and Mewni have ever seen!" Which got a loud, massive cheer from everyone around them.

"And we'll finally sully the disgraced name of that accursed Stump once and for all!" Eclipsa finished, eliciting another loud cheer from everyone. Everyone except for Mr. Dunlap, of course, who made no secret he had absolutely no idea what was going on. Neither did the rest of the group, but they had succumbed to mob mentality to care.

"I still have no idea what the hell any of you people are talking about." He said with a smirk.

"Oh we know, darling. Your slouch gave that away. But thank you for being such a good sport."

"I don't slouch!"

And so after agreeing to keep these plans secret from Star, they all set off into overdrive to rearrange the party and make room for birthday decorations & games. Now they were even closer up against the wall, scrambling to get it done in time.

* * *

**3 days until Christmas Eve**

The party planning got extra aggressive in the succeeding several days. In addition to the three big holiday celebrations planned, there was now also Star's birthday planning being done. It proved to be a dubious & exhausting task, but when it came to Star, nobody was in the mood to fail her. And yet somehow, they managed to keep it all a secret from her. She was none the wiser to any of it. Especially since she had her own issues to deal with, most especially the situation with Jackie.

The night of the winter solstice arrived. The longest night of the year. And just three days before the party was set to kick off. With the sun beginning to set, Star & Marco were hunkered together in Marco's room, going over some last minute details and chomping down on some super awesome cheesy nachos. Star was clearly nervous about things. "So...you ready for the party?" Marco awkwardly asked her.

She shook her head. "Nope."

"Nervous?"

"Petrified. It's been a stressful month. But at least things are finally coming together. Just a few more little details to check up on and we should be good to go."

"I heard Janna finally managed to get some entertainment for the party?"

"Yep. She said it was some boy band that broke up years ago and they're getting back together for this party for some reason."

"Boy band? So..._not_ Love Sentence?"

The girl shrugged. "She wouldn't tell me who they were but, hey, music is music, right?"

"I guess. And...I heard Chloe flew back in this afternoon."

Star started to twiddle her thumbs nervously. "Yup. That she did."

"Are you okay?"

After a moment of hesitation, Star nodded slowly. "I guess so. It's just...it's not going away, and I'm nervous I'm gonna make a fool of myself in front of them. I don't want to come in between Jackie and Chloe. They don't deserve that."

"But you said it yourself, you don't want to _date_ Jackie, right? You're just...attracted to her?"

"That doesn't make it better, though! ...Does it?"

Marco meekly shrugged back. "Look...I really think you should talk to Jackie. It's not a good idea to keep this bottled up inside. You'll feel a lot better after you talk about it, even if things go awkwardly between you two. I'm sure she'll understand."

Despite her reservations, Star agreed. "You're right. I'm just being really silly and nervous, that's all."

"You're a teenager. You don't think _every_ teenager goes through this?"

"I just feel bad for _you_, more than anything."

Her response left him confused. "Me? Why?"

"I'm supposed to be committed to _you_, and yet here I am getting hot and bothered by your ex-girlfriend!"

"Well, she's _hot_. I can't blame you for that."

"That doesn't make it right!" She sighed and cupped her eyebrows. "The other day I was with her setting up the stage curtains and I went from helping her put them up to staring at her bubble butt for like ten minutes straight! I was _completely _spaced out and nobody said anything! What if she caught me!?"

"...I guess that would've made for an awkward talk..."

"Ya think!?" She shouted before covering her mouth and sighing again. "...I'm gonna have to talk to her about this, aren't I?"

Marco pondered her question before gently nodding. "...I think so." He brought her in carefully for a hug. "Look, just be honest about it. That's all you can really do. And whatever happens...happens. But you'll feel better once you get it off your chest...I wish I had done that with her."

Star smiled at her love and gently pecked his lips. "Aww, you softie. But look at it this way: if you _had_ done it sooner, maybe things with us go completely differently. And then maybe we don't have what we have right now. And I really like what we have."

He smiled and returned the kiss. "So do I. Oh! That reminds me! You know what today is, right?"

She hesitated, but then nodded. "Yeah, it's the winter solstice. The longest night of the..." A lightbulb went off in her head, and a flirtatious smirk crossed her face. "Ohhhh, I see. Do you think we can last until sunrise?"

"I don't know. But I definitely want to try."

"Then what are we waiting for?"

So they cleared their bed off, stripped themselves, closed their door (with an appropriate tie hanging off the doorknob outside), snuggled under the blankets, and got right to work. They had a long night of fun ahead of them...assuming they could keep it up the whole time.

* * *

**2 days until Christmas Eve**

The following morning, Janna, Tom, and Jackie - as well as Chloe - arrived at the Diaz household early, meeting the two lovebirds as had been agreed in order to set off to the park and finish preparations for the party. They were treated to some nice hot breakfast from Rafael and Angie while they waited for the other two to join them downstairs.

Which they finally did. And boy did they look exhausted. Hair frazzled, day clothes disheveled, eyes bloodshot with dark circles around them. They looked like they hadn't slept in days. But for the amount of fun they had the whole night, it was worth it. "Well well well, look who finally decided to join us." Tom said in a clearly mocking tone, which got a rough but gleeful laugh from the two as they took their seats and were handed a plate of pancakes.

"Looks like you two had some _fun_ last night." Jackie quipped. Chloe raised an eyebrow in her direction, almost as if she was asking 'Are you serious?'; she wasn't very privy to Jackie's circle of friends. "Oh yeah." Was all Jackie needed to say for Chloe to get the hint, and she instantly expressed delight at this information.

"What can we say? The shortest day of the year only comes around once." Star said with a yawn.

"Whooooa, time out." Janna intervened. "You guys went the whole night?"

"From sun _up_ to sun _down_." Marco bragged, his turn to yawn. "We've been planning it for weeks."

"And we are _so_ going to do it again." Star gently nudged his arm, taking a bite out of her meal. "Not tonight, obviously. Our beauty rest is important. But maybe Christmas night?"

"I like the way your mind works." He tickled underneath her chin and purred, getting another laugh from her.

"Hey maybe you guys could keep your dirty minds away from the table before we upchuck our breakfast that your folks worked so diligently to make for us." Janna teased, sticking her tongue out at them.

"Oh, guys! Before I forget, I have gifts for all of you!"

"Already?" Tom questioned. "But it's not Christmas yet."

"Yeah but I've been swamped with this whole party thing and I feel like if I don't do it now I'll completely forget. Just bear with me, I'll be right back!" She got out of her seat and raced up the stairs towards Marco's room, where she had stashed all of her gifts the night before to give to her friends. She came barreling down with a sack full of presents. As the rest of them got up and rinsed off their dishes, she handed them each their gifts. For Marco, she got him a brand new set of red hoodies (along with some of other colors too, because in her words 'He needed to colorize his wardrobe,'). For Tom, she got him a miniaturized figurine of the carriage that he had built her to take her to the Blood Moon Ball. For Janna, she got her a "spirit-tracking kit," which consisted of a toy mini-vaccum designed to suck up lingering 'spirits' as well as a slime blaster meant to blast slimes of different colors to entrap them (basically this world's version of **Ghostbusters**). For Rafael & Angie, she got them their very own "Friendship blanket" - the one that Star & Marco often used with each other - that fit them both perfectly.

That left just Jackie and Chloe left. Star gave Chloe her gift first, saving Jackie for last. For Chloe, she got her a brand new beret, a lovely new purple scarf, _and_ a little statue of the Eiffel Tower. Now only Jackie was left among the group to receive her gift. Star pulled the box out of the bag and handed it to Jackie.

"Last but not least...Jackie." She said calmly as Jackie took the box.

"Aww, Star, you didn't have to..." Jackie slowly started to open the box. Inside on the immediate top was the new leather jacket. "Oh. This is..." Initially Jackie seemed slightly disappointed, seeing as she already possessed a jacket. But her tune changed drastically when she pulled it out of the box and flipped it over to the other side, noticing the new insignia. "Whoa ho ho...oh this is _so_ cool!"

"I got it custom-made!"

"Okay, _this_ is super awesome." She exclaimed. "I love the skateboards!"

"Do I know you or what?"

"Oh girl you totally-" But before Jackie could finish, her eye caught something else in the box. "Oh wait, there's something else here."

Star temporarily remained motionless. "...N-No there isn't." And in denial. But she too looked in the direction of the box and discovered the other thing that was lurking in there: the T-shirt. Yes, _that_ T-shirt. Jackie reached down to take it out of the box, opening it so that the front of the shirt - and its declarative message - faced her. "NO NO NO NO NO NO JACKIE WAIT PUT THAT BACK THAT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO BE IN THERE!" Unfortunately, by the time Star finished yelling, Jackie had already finished reading what it said. As did Chloe...and the rest of the teens.

Hoo boy, could you say awkward?

**End of Chapter 6.**

**Okay, so time to be real. As of the time of this writing my grandmother is in hospice and not long for this world. To add insult to injury, once she passes I will have to move out of the house that I've known for my entire life, which means my life is about to get very hectic. As such, be prepared for updates to this and all of my stories to become very, _very_ sporadic going forward. I'm not quitting these fics by any means, but please remember this warning if we end up going a while without another update.**

**But as always, please read & review :)**


	7. Heartfelt Passage

**Star vs The Forces of Evil**

**Beautiful Christmas**

**Disclaimer: _Star vs The Forces of Evil_ was created by Daron Nefcy and is owned by Disney. I own no part of _Star vs_.**

* * *

**Chapter 7: Heartfelt Passage**

**Original Postdate: November 20, 2019**

* * *

Everyone sat in the room almost completely silently for what seemed like forever. There Jackie was holding the T-shirt that Star not too long ago was contemplating not even giving to her. And yet...she did. By accident or by intention, this was what was unfolding. Chloe took a quick second to actually read the dang shirt. And once she did, she had this to say. "I told you." She said to Jackie, nudging her shoulder. But it was Jackie's response to that that caused the most trouble.

"Oh, I knew."

Star took her hands away from her face to show that her jaw was on the ground. She wasn't the only one, either. "Wait, time-out, you _KNEW_!?" Star was completely dumbfounded and quickly re-covered her eyes. But before either of them could say anything more, Marco spoke up from the table.

"Uh, h-hey, w-why don't we all get going? The party's only a couple days away and we still have a lot of work to do." He poorly tried to cover for Star, but the others, including his own parents, decided to go along with it, agreeing in unison and setting off for the front door. Star & Jackie remained motionless while Chloe was actively contemplating whether to remain or go with the group. "You guys...you guys coming?" Marco asked them.

Chloe and Jackie took their time silently exchanging looks with each other, as if telepathically communicating their next step. "Um...you know what, Chloe, why don't you go on ahead? Star and I will catch up."

"Oui!" Chloe instantly agreed and ran towards the front door to catch up with the rest of the group, leaving Jackie & Star alone in the house. Jackie took another look at the shirt and studied it, letting out a chuckle when she was done. But as she went to say something to Star she couldn't help but notice the girl was covering herself in embarrassment, and behind her hands hid a deeply red face. She draped the shirt and leather jacket over her shoulder and walked over to Star, taking her hands and slowly lower them from her face. Star's lips were quivering and she was sweating bullets.

"Jackie I'm so sorry that wasn't supposed to-" Jackie gently wrapped an arm around Star's shoulder and brought her in for a close hug. If Jackie was offended or upset by the gesture, she was not showing it.

"Why don't we go grab some tacos?" She suggested, a smile crossing her face. Star's blush started to go away, as did her sweat.

"...kay." Was all she could meekly muster out as they both started for the front door, on their way to Britta's Tacos.

* * *

Outside, flurries of snow were falling from the sky. Not enough to stick to the ground, but enough to create a beautiful sight. A line for Britta's Tacos was almost non-existent, allowing Star & Jackie to cruise to the front and order two pain-peppered tacos. They found themselves a table and took a seat, sitting precariously close to each other.

"Ready to taste the pain?" Jackie said to Star.

"Nope! But let's do it anyway!" And so they each took a bite out of their respective taco, and sure enough, they lived up to their reputation, and both of them suffered for it. But they got a good laugh out of it, which helped to temporarily distract from the rising awkward tension emulating from Star. Jackie right away pounced on it, scooching herself closer to Star and wrapping an arm around her shoulder, causing Star to blush madly.

"Alright, girl, talk to me."

Star stared right into Jackie's eyes for the longest time, saying absolutely nothing. It was only after she gave her an encouraging smile that Star was able to muster up any amount of courage. She closed her eyes, took a breath, and reopened them, concentrating again on Jackie's glistening green eyes. "Could I ask you something?"

Jackie nodded. "Go for it."

Star took another deep breath before proceeding. "What made you realize you liked girls also?"

On first instinct the question took Jackie by surprise. But only briefly. Quickly she settled down and realized it was a perfectly reasonable question, especially in relation to what Star was currently going through. "I'm not sure. I don't think it was just one thing that did it."

"But it was Chloe that really pushed it over the line, right?" She hesitated, but she nodded in response. "How did you two meet?"

Jackie took another bite, using her time to contemplate the order of her words. "After I broke it off with Marco, I decided I needed to get out of Echo Creek for awhile. You know, just reevaluate things in my life. I've always found that traveling to new places helps clear my head. And one day I was just skating along, minding my own business, and I was trying to pull off this neat trick. But then I saw this cute girl doing some sick parkour along the sidewalk, and I guess we weren't paying attention and we crashed into each other. We were a little heated with each other at first, but then she complimented my board and I told her I liked her beret and then I guess we just hit it off after that. I bought her dinner and she bought me a new board."

"Aww..." Star smiled. "That's so cute."

"I mean, at first I kinda just thought we were really good friends. We'd chat, we'd hang out, we'd laugh...but the more time we spent together, the more I got to know her, the more I realized it was a lot more than that. A-And I wasn't completely sure how to feel about it. But she was amazing in helping me through it and realizing things about myself that I never knew."

Star nodded along. "She _is_ really cool." She looked away from Jackie for a moment, taking another bite out of her taco. The embarrassment on her face was clear, but Jackie, ever the zen one, patiently helped turn Star's face back around, staring into her blue eyes. "You know something? I think...I think _you_ did for me what Chloe did for you." Though she spoke those words as if they were a problem, Jackie took them as a compliment. She blushed and hugged Star tighter. "So...how long have you known?"

The girl smiled again. "Long enough. No offense Star, but you're not exactly great at hiding your feelings." She winked at Star, nudging herself even closer to her. Star felt Jackie's hip touching hers. Her face went red. "How long have you felt this way about me?"

Star sighed and looked away for a moment, taking another bite. She unconsciously put her left hand down on the seat without thinking. Jackie seized this opportunity and positioned herself so that she was essentially sitting on said hand. Once Star realized what had happened, she shot a gaze right back at Jackie, her blush going even deeper red. "...Probably...about six months..."

"Really? What did it?"

"...You're gonna laugh at me..."

"Try me."

Star chuckled at her and sighed. "Remember...remember at that thank-you party everyone threw for me this summer? You know, the one where I showed off my new leather jacket and...and that T-shirt...and you told me the nickname "Bubble Butt" 'fit me like a glove."

Jackie's eyes went wide for a moment. She had actually forgotten all about that little incident. But Star didn't. It was ingrained into her mind since that very day. Something that was so inconsequential to Jackie was almost life-changing for Star. Jackie couldn't help but break out into laughter. "Oh my gosh, for real!?" She asked; Star nodded, almost laughing herself. "I'm serious, I _completely_ forgot about that."

"I haven't." Star admitted, more blush on her face. "But for real, girl, if that nickname belongs to _anyone_ it's _you_." She smiled while saying this, which got a major blush and a smile from Jackie.

"Oh my gosh, Star, stop it."

"Seriously do you _own_ a mirror, girl? If I had your figure I'd stare at myself _all day_. And I'm pretty sure Marco would too." The mere mention of Marco saw both of them fly into raucous laughter for a brief moment. "I'm just kidding, Jackie. He wouldn't do that to you."

Jackie smirked at her. "You sure about that?"

And just as quickly, Star went into a confused frown, then back to a flirtatious smile. "Oh yeah?"

"Okay, you have to swear to never tell him I told you this."

Star held up her free hand and lifted her pinkie. "Pinkie swear."

Jackie looked around them to ensure that nobody was near. Once she was certain, she turned back to Star and whispered, "_I caught him staring a few times_."

Star gasped in total delight. "You did!? I knew it. So how did he react?"

"Oh, I never confronted him about it."

"...You didn't?" She raised an eyebrow. How could Jackie not bring it to Marco's attention? "How come?"

"He was never rude about it or anything. It was more like just innocent eyes drifting off without him realizing it. Every time I looked back at him it was like he was in a trance, but then he'd come out of it and try to hide it. I figured it was something he was embarrassed about."

Star initially stayed quiet, internally recalling the events of six months prior, where after some basic teasing from Janna, Marco revealed he was physically attracted to Star in addition to his emotional attraction. The rest, as they say, is history. "...Yeah, that sounds about right."

"How was he like when you found out about him...you know..."

"He was ashamed. He thought I'd look down on him for looking at me like that, that he was just automatically not supposed to have those feelings."

"But you weren't offended."

She shook her head proudly. "Not at all. Heck, sometimes I wish I realized he felt that way about me sooner. It's super cute watching him gush over me when he's walking behind me or kissing me & holding my tush."

"It's weird, I always thought you'd want to be a little more low-key about stuff like that, if at all..."

"I don't know how to explain it. Marco's just...he's special."

"He _is_ a gentleman."

"Total gentleman." She chuckled lightly, a proud smile crossing her face as she reminisced about all the happy memories she had with him. "You know the first time Marco and I...I fell asleep in the middle of it. He could've kept going and had all the fun himself - and I honestly wouldn't have minded - but he didn't do that. I've literally never met a guy more polite & respectful than Marco. He fell in love with everything else about me before he started drooling over my bubble butt." It was amusing to everyone that Star would just so casually & so unapologetically use that phrase to describe herself. "Jackie is it...is it bad that I'm only _physically_ attracted to you? I-I'm not looking to break you and Chloe up, and I don't know if this means I'm a bad person or a-"

Jackie brought Star in for a comforting hug. "It means you're a teenager. Hormones can be your best friend _or_ your worst enemy depending on the day. Sometimes both."

"I guess...to be honest, it's been a little bit weird since I came to terms with being bisexual. Marco's gonna be my husband one day, that's not up for dispute. But I shouldn't be sitting here badly crushing on his ex-girlfriend like I am, mindlessly staring at her bubble butt or getting incredibly tingly & nervous when she's sitting right up against me." She looked back at Jackie to see she was still smiling. Still not offended by her revelation. "Look, I didn't want to cause any trouble or get in between you and Chloe. It's just that these feelings...these hormones...they're not going away. A-And I guess I'm just afraid if I don't get them to go away soon, I'm gonna do or say something that just makes everything super awkward and I ruin everything...feels like I kinda crossed that line already..."

Jackie's eyes slightly opened. "What? You mean the shirt?" She chuckled, again hugging Star. "Oh girl, please, don't be silly."

Star cocked her head, surprised at Jackie's reaction. "You mean that? It's not weird?"

Jackie had the T-shit next to her on the seat. She picked it up and unfolded it, revealing its message. "I mean maybe it's a _little_ bit weird, but come on, this is one hundred percent _you_." They both couldn't help but laugh. There was no way to dispute that statement.

"It's also one hundred percent _true._" Star corrected her, which again got a laugh from both of them. "Don't deny it, Jackie. You know it's true."

She playfully rolled her eyes and blushed. "Yeah, I know."

"There's no way Marco was the only boy in school staring at it. Just sayin'."

"Speak for yourself, girlfriend."

And more laughs commenced. If nothing else, this talk proved to be a massive weight off of Star's shoulders knowing that at least Jackie wasn't upset with her or offended by her gift. But now came the hard part: how to move forward. "So...now what?"

"What do you mean?"

"Where do we go from here? I told you these feelings aren't going away..."

"You do the same thing you do with pretty much every part of your life, good or bad...you take it one day at a time. It'll go away eventually, when it's supposed to, but...you don't have to rush them away either."

"...R-Really?"

Jackie nodded and smiled. "We're kind of open about our relationship. Chloe flirts with almost everyone all the dang time. At first I thought it was a little weird, but then one day we were just hanging out in the park and she told me to cat-call all the guys & gals that passed us by."

"Oh my gosh, tell me you're joking!"

"I wish. We had a pretty good laugh about it the whole day! I actually got a bit carried away with it near the end, but she was _such_ a good sport about it. And now it's just like a regular thing we do."

"And it doesn't cause any problems between you two?"

She shook her head. "Nope, we're both pretty dang chill about it. Don't tell her I told you this, but she's been wanting to flirt with you for a while now too."

Star's face again went red as a smile crept onto her face. "For real? Wow. Well you know that if _she_ starts getting in on it you're gonna have to up your game, right?" She winked at Jackie, spurring another laugh.

"Oh don't worry, I know. But that means _you'll_ have to up your game, too. We don't play around." A brief moment of silence between the two of them before more raucous laughter. What started out as an intensely awkward conversation between the two of them morphed into something truly wonderful. The tension had significantly died down. Any fears Star had about any retaliation or resentment over her outburst was gone. But now came the part where they had to move forward, always a challenge. "How do you feel, Star?"

"Honestly? I...don't know." Star admitted. "I feel a lot of things. Weird, confused, nervous...guilty-"

"Hey hey, stop that." Jackie embraced her, patting her shoulder. "There's no reason to feel guilty."

"Are you sure?"

"Totally." She took out the T-shirt again. "And I _love_ this shirt. _And_ the new jacket you got me."

"I knew you'd like the jacket. The shirt I wasn't so sure of...and you know, you don't have to ever wear it if you don't want to."

"Well I'll _definitely_ keep it in mint condition, you can be sure of that."

"Aww, thanks." They both resumed eating their tacos, allowing a few moments of blissful silence & serenity surround their table. Closure, of sorts, had been reached. "I guess we should join the others."

"I think we should too." They both stood up and stretched, readying themselves to take their leave. "You sure you're okay?"

Star momentarily looked at the ground, and then back at her. Jackie's warm, green eyes stared back unapologetically, encouraging Star to speak again. "...I will be. Eventually. I hope. And I hope this doesn't make things awkward between all of us. Marco's been so understanding about all of this..."

"I told you, he's the best."

"He is." They chuckled at each other, silently reminiscing to themselves about their relationships with Marco. For someone who was once a total "safe kid" he sure turned out to be the ladies' man. Another moment of silence passed with the two of them standing there staring into each other's eyes. Not a word was spoken, not a muscle was moved...until Star, overwhelmed with her emotions, lunged at Jackie and embraced her, hugging her harder than she's ever hugged her before, gently pressing her cheek against hers. Despite being taken aback by the sudden outburst, Jackie happily returned the hug. When they finally pulled apart, Star's face was completely red. "Sorry about that."

"You...you're a strong hugger."

"Yeah I gotta work on that. Also, Jackie, do you use any lotion? Because-" Star carefully placed the back of her hand against Jackie's face and caressed it, getting a blush from the both of them. "Holy crap you have _the_ softest cheeks I've ever felt." Jackie gave off a sly smile, prompting Star to realize her mistake and quickly try to cover herself. "I-I meant your face! Obviously!"

"_Sure_ you did."

"Jackie!"

And more laughter from the both of them. "I'm just kidding. Unless you want me _not_ to be."

"...o-okay I think we're done."

Jackie lightly punched Star in the arm and started heading away, going in the direction of the park to meet the others. But she stopped when she realized Star wasn't behind her. She looked back and saw the girl standing in place, almost frozen (metaphorically) from nerves. "...Are you coming?"

She hesitated for a moment, her face still totally red. "...You know what? You go ahead. I'll catch up."

Jackie made her way back to Star. "You sure?"

"Y-Yeah. I, uh...I think I need a few minutes to catch my breath." Jackie gave off an understanding nod & smile. "And Jackie...thanks again. You know, for being _so_ cool about all of this."

Jackie slowly embraced Star again, her hug reassuring them both that everything was going to work out. She gently kissed her forehead before parting and racing towards the park, leaving Star alone. With a weight of sorts lifted off of her shoulders, Star took a loud, deep breath and collapsed on the ground, huddling herself in a sitting fetal position. Her nerves were still gone, but at least there was peace within herself, at least temporarily.

**End of Chapter 7.**

**So real talk time: the tragic happened: my grandmother passed away on 11/9, the day after I posted my last update of this story. What does this mean? Just that my personal life is about to go into chaos for various reasons and as a result, updates for all of my stories are going to be erratic for the time being. I still want to finish this before Christmas, and I _do_ want to get Episode 2 of "The Ballad of Earth-Mewni" up before the end of November, but no promises. Sigh, my light speed update schedule was fun while it lasted.**

**Also, more news: I recently opened a Wattpad account and am in the process of migrating all of my Star vs stories over to that platform (with _some_ noticeable changes in minor things like dialogue & such if you pay close enough attention). Please visit my Twitter account "AcunaAndrew" to find the links in my profile (I'd post them here but apparently has a thing against that so whatever).**

**Thank you for your understand. And as always, please read & review.**


	8. Winter Wonderment

**Star vs The Forces of Evil**

**Beautiful Christmas**

**Disclaimer: _Star vs The Forces of Evil_ was created by Daron Nefcy and is owned by Disney. I own no part of _Star vs_.**

* * *

**Chapter 8: Winter Wonderment**

**Original Postdate: December 14, 2019**

* * *

After taking some time to herself, Star finally gathered the courage to return to the park, where last-minute preparations were being made. A quick scan of the park noted that it was packed with people & monsters pitching in to help set everything up. Even Mr. Dunlap was aggressively assisting in preparations. She caught wind of a peculiar sight: the stage that was dead smack in the middle of the park had been expanded in size, and there was a massive, thick tarp that appeared to be covering something taking up the majority of the stage, while also doing a decent job of concealing the exact shape of what was underneath it. Marco, Tom, Janna, Jackie, and Chloe were over by the curtain helping get it set.

Star raced over to them and surprised them by tackling Marco from behind, nearly knocking him over. "Surprise!" She shouted, drawing laughs from everyone.

"You made it!" Marco said to her, turning around and embracing her. "Everything okay?"

Star hesitated; glancing back at both Jackie & Chloe, both of whom smiled at her, easing some of her fraying nerves. "Yeah, I think so."

"She just needed someone to vent to." Jackie explained. "But it's all good now."

"Yeah...all good..." Star said nervously with a blush. "Thanks, Jackie." She quickly turned to the stage to conceal the growing blush. "So...what's underneath the tarp?" She tried to make a move towards the stage, only to be stopped by Marco grabbing her arm.

"Nope! It's a surprise." He said firmly.

"I _like_ surprises!"

"Well I'm sure you'll love _this_ one, but it's not coming out until the party. Got it?"

She rolled her eyes and smiled. "Alright, alright. Message received, you can stand down. Come on, let's help finish decorating."

"Sounds good to me." Everyone else in the group took off in different directions. Marco was about to follow suit before being stopped by Star; she grabbed his arm tightly enough to stop him without pulling it out of its socket. "Star?" Marco was greeted in return with a massive bear hug, the likes of which couldn't be given by anyone _other_ than Star. He returned it instantly. "What's that for?"

"It's a thank you."

"...For what?"

"...You know what." She sheepishly looked away in slight embarrassment. Marco didn't need any more to put it together.

"Are things okay between you and Jackie?"

She nodded slowly. "Yeah, actually, they are. We're-_I'm_...I'm taking things one day at a time. Pretty much like everything else that's been piled on me the last year and change."

"That's all you _can_ do."

"Yeah." She let out a chuckle. "I guess I need to work on my social skills again. She told me I wasn't very subtle about my attraction to her."

"You weren't." He joked, which got a much heartier laugh out of Star, causing him confusion. "What?"

"Nothing. It's just..." She collected herself before continuing. "She said the same thing about you."

"Oh she did, huh?" He followed suit in laughing, but it quickly died down as realization set in for him. "She...she-"

"Mmm-hmmm..." She slyly nodded and smirked, causing him to go red in the face. They both turned to where Jackie and Chloe were, the former catching sight of them staring at her, and in response she gave them a fingerbang & tongue-click, which served to further redden Marco's face.

"...Oh no."

"Oh _yes_." She walked over to him, gently patting his rear end and passionately kissing him. "For the record, she said she was flattered."

"Was she now?" Clearly he was embarrassed about all of this. But in his and Star's defense, it was Jackie. Who _wouldn't_ want to keep their eyes on her?

"I keep telling you, Diaz. _Pictures last longer_." With that, she pecked his cheek once more and took off, heading off to help with last minute preparations. Now it was Marco's turn to need a moment alone to regather himself.

* * *

Meanwhile, Angie, Rafeal, Moon, and River were helping set the various tables that were scattered around the park, tables that would be holding the many feasts that would be served at the party. In the weeks and months following the cleaving, Marco's family & Star's family got to spend a lot more time getting to know each other. Moon was initially a bit apprehensive towards Marco's parents as they were a drastically stark contrast in terms of behavior & attitude compared to her. But as time passed & Star had more time spent with them away from Mewni, she grew a profound admiration for them and how they made her feel like part of Marco's family. She didn't realize just how much she admired the Diazes until the fateful night where Star bashed a mirror so hard she nearly bled out, and Angie stepped up to heal her wounds while Rafael emotionally consoled her.

"Everything looks beautiful." Angie remarked, gazing at the various set pieces scattered across the park.

"It's marvelous!" Moon agreed. "We used to throw our fair share of extravagant parties at the castle, but none of them compare to the atmosphere around this one."

"Star knows how to throw a party. I guess she got that from Angie and I." Rafael added. " We used to throw her little parties for her when she was just starting out with us!" The four of them shared a laugh. "We wanted to make her feel welcome."

"You certainly did." Moon let a proud smile creep onto her face. Deep internal contemplation on her part follow as she took stock of the park around her, finally settling on the stage with the gigantic tarp covering most of it. Having been educated on the customs of Christmas on Earth, Moon set out to ensure she would have the perfect gift for the two of them, both as a gesture of good will _and_ as a thank-you for their ever-growing hospitality towards her daughter. The gift she had for them was stored underneath the tarp with everything else. "If it's alright with you, I'd like to show you something." She began walking towards the tarp, with River, Angie, and Rafael following behind. She dug underneath the tarp and came back out shortly afterwards with what appeared to be a large picture frame wrapped in wrapping paper. "I know it's tradition to wait until the actual day of Christmas, but...well, we've been sort of moving _away_ from adhering to traditions, so..." She extended her arms out, handing the frame to them. "Merry Christmas."

Angie & Rafael both looked at each other, then at the packaged gift. Needless to say, they were completely stunned. "...For us?" He asked; Moon nodded. Proud smiles crossed their faces as they took the gift, holding it between them. Slowly they peeled off the wrapping paper, unveiling Moon's gift underneath: a painted portrait of the two of them together in lovely water color in a silver picture frame. Angie & Rafael's eyes immediately lit up once they realized what they were looking at. It was a breathtaking visual. Their eyes darted between the painting and Moon, who proudly stood there with a smile, realizing they were completely enthralled with her gift. "_IT'S BEAUTIFUL!"_ Rafael shouted.

"Did _you_ paint this?" Angie asked.

"I did. It was...a lot more difficult than I envisioned."

"She went through dozens of canvases and even broke three...erm...those platforms she leans on to paint, what do you call them again?"

"Easels?"

"EASELS, yes! Thank you!"

"But it was all worth it."

"It's wonderful!" Angie and Rafael set aside the frame and went in for a massive bear hug with Moon & River, who refused to object. "Thank you!"

"My turn!" River shouted, enthusiastically racing under the tarp, rummaging around, and pulling out something. It was his gift to Angie & Rafael: a small statue of the two of them in a similar pose made out of stale corn. He handed it over to them for them to examine. "Moon Pie and I decided to fulfill the tradition of handmade gifts for this holiday. It's always a little more heartfelt when you craft something beautiful by hand. Plus, I don't particularly trust any of these businesses to not engage in tomfoolery, we only have so much financial flexibility."

"_WELCOME TO CAPITALISM!"_ Yelled Janna faintly in the distance.

"Is this...corn?" Rafael asked.

"You bet your bottom dollar it is! Oh and by the by, I wouldn't eat that if I were you. That corn's been stale for months."

Moon gave her loving husband a side eye. "River, dear, why did you make their gift out of stale corn?"

"Because the still-edible corn wouldn't hold in place."

His answer spurned laughter from the Diazes as they ambushed Moon & River again. "We love it! It's beautiful!" Rafael exclaimed. "Thank you both!" Moon & River embraced the Diazes, joining in for a wonderful moment together. "Oh, it's our turn!" Now it was Angie & Rafael's turn to showcase their gifts to the Butterflies. They rummaged under the tarp & came back out, collectively carrying one item: what appeared to be a large photo album. "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" The two of them shouted in unison, approaching Moon & River and handing them the gifts. Moon opened the book; inside were about 250 pictures of Moon & River together in some way, whether it was them on a dance floor, them having fun in a boat out on the lake, or them out under the moonlight, or even pictures of their wedding & after party. There was a picture for almost every important event in their lives, some, as it turned out, thought to be lost.

"River, look at this!" Moon exclaimed, pointing to one of the photos, specifically the one showing a young, newly-crowed Queen Moon and young River kissing under the moonlight in the Butterfly castle.

"Wasn't that after you severed Toffee's finger?" River inquired.

"It was! It was our first true romantic moment together..." She lightly kissed her husband. "And it's one of my favorite memories." They flipped through more pages, this time stopping on a photo depicting a slightly older River wrestling a pack of alligators with a slightly older Moon off to the side cheering him on. "Oh and this one..."

"Ah yes I remember! That sniveling snob Manfred bet me that I couldn't wrestler a pack of alligators and come out without a scratch. I sure showed him who's the boss!" River looked up at the Diazes, who were gushing with pride. "Where did you find all of these? We thought they were lost to the winds when Meteora destroyed the castle."

"Star and Marco helped us search _all over_ that castle while you two weren't looking for them. They knew how much they meant to you, so they helped us organize them into this nifty little album."

"It's not much, especially compared to _these_," Rafael emphasized the gifts Moon & River just bestowed on them. "But-"

"Perish that nonsense, this is fantastic! Our whole lives together were documented in those photographs. And now we can properly bask in their glory once again!"

Moon flipped the pages until she pointed to one that seemed to draw her attention. In fact it was a photo of Moon in a hospital bed mere moments after giving birth to Star. River was standing next to her embracing Moon with the biggest smile on his face one had ever seen. "River, look! It's the day Star came into the world."

River let out a raucous laugh, serving to hold back tears unsuccessfully. "She was a shining star, even all the way back then."

"She's _our_ shining star." Moon finally put the book down and joined River in hugging the Diazes again. "Thank you both! This is wonderful!"

"It was no trouble, but thank the kids too. They helped us find all of these wonderful memories for you!" Rafael pointed over to where Star and Marco were standing; they were busy talking to Mr. Dunlap and helping put finishing touches everywhere. The four proud parents made their way over to their kids, gently getting their attention and crushing them both in a loving hug.

It was a beautiful gesture, but one that had to end quickly lest they suffocate their children. "What was that for?" Marco asked in between laughs before noticing they were all holding the gifts. "Aww, you guys exchanged gifts."

"Ooh, Mom Dad I hope you like yours!" Star exclaimed proudly. "It's isn't much, but-"

"It's fantastic, sweetheart!" Moon declared. "Thank you both."

"We're so glad you love it."

"And don't worry, Star and I still have _our_ gifts to give to you guys." Marco proclaimed. "I doubt they'll measure up, but-"

"Stop that, Marco. I'm sure they're wonderful, whatever they are." Another embrace before Angie's eye caught wind of some figures flying in from the sky...which meant it was pretty easy to deduce who it actually was.

Star turned herself around to face the direction Angie was facing and the pieces all came together. "Hey, it's Pony Head! **_PONY HEAD!_**"

True enough, Star's other best friend Pony Head and her plentiful family of sisters and dad reigned down towards the ground by Star. "YO GIRL WHAT UP!"

"Where have _you_ guys been all this time!?" Marco asked.

"Oh, so since there's like no Stump Day anymore or whatever we all went out of town for a looooooong trip! We went sight seeing and everything!"

"Ooh, did you have a good time?"

"You kidding? It was off the wall! But it got old kinda fast so we came back home, but it was totes worth it! So what's the haps here? Party or something?"

"Christmas party, baby!" Star eagerly declared, drawing only a confused glare from Pony Head. "Oh, Christmas, that's, uh, that's the main December holiday Earth celebrates."

"Ohhhhh okay. So, like, is it _anything_ like Stump Day?"

"Yeah, except it's a lot less cynical, more joyous, and there's no sentient murderous tree stump."

"So...like it's _nothing_ like it then."

Star & Marco exchanged glares before answering. "I guess so." Marco said. "Hey, uh, could I talk to Pony Head for a moment?"

The girl looked at Pony Head, and then at Marco. "Yeah? A-Alright, sure." Reluctantly, she ran off, the adults following her, leaving Marco & Pony Head alone.

"I never thought I'd say this, but...I could use your help." Marco explained, deadpanned. "It's Star."

"Um, okay so like whatever's going on between you two, do you really think _I'm_ the best-"

"It's not relationship troubles."

"Oh. Never mind. So, like, party?"

"Yup." He nodded smugly.

"And like everyone's on board this time? Including mommy and daddy?"

"Yes, including her parents."

"Alright, nice work, Diaz! Show me what you got!"

"Follow me!" He led Pony Head - and her sisters & father who languished behind for some reason - over to the stage and the tarp covering what they had planned for Star.

* * *

Over in another part of the park, the tables that were set to host both the orphanage at the animal shelter were nearing completion, with Reggie tending to the orphanage table and Hilda tending to the shelter table. "Everything looks great!" Star said, approaching both of them.

"I still can't believe you managed to swing this!" Reggie exclaimed with pride. "Just imagine the attention the children and the animals will get."

"Nothing says "holiday spirit" like adopting a cute widdle baby or bringing home a stray! How are the kids taking it?"

"I don't think they quite understand what's happening. All they know is they're gonna be seeing a lot of strangers at the party!"

"Don't worry about that, I'll make sure they _and_ the animals are all comfortable around everyone. Nothing bad's gonna happen to anyone if I have anything to say about that."

"Don't you mean if _we_ have anything to say about that?" Came the booming voice of Mr. Dunlap from behind Star.

"Looks like _somebody's _found their Christmas spirit again." She playfully punched his arm. "What do you think?"

Mr. Dunlap took a good look around at the party surrounding them. "I think you're insane, for one."

"Well of course I am. That's why I'm in therapy."

"It took the Misses and I _months_ to put a party like this together, and you managed to do it in less than one."

"It wasn't just me. I've had a _lot_ of help from my friends and so many of the residents. I'm so glad so many of them are buying into what we're doing. But I can't help but be worried about the ones that aren't. And there's...there's a lot of them."

"There always is." He explained. "There's always going to be. That's why it's our job to push back against it whenever we get a chance."

"I just want to put people in a good mood, _why_ does it have to be so convoluted!?"

"Because...because it's a lot easier to hate than to love."

"Ain't that the truth." She sighed, but put on a brave face for Mr. Dunlap. "You know what? I know there's gonna be people who don't care for the Hannukah or Kwanza stuff and they're just here for the Christmas. And that's fine, let people have their Christmas. But let people have their Hanukkah or Kwanza or whatever holiday they celebrate. Nobody has to be a grump about it."

"If only it were that easy."

"Trust me, I _know_ it's never that easy. But it's still worth trying. And look on the bright side, maybe this kick-butt party will give you ideas for next year's party!"

Mr. Dunlap hesitated, looking away briefly from Star. "Yeah...about that..."

"Oh don't tell me." Star's mood instantly tanked. "But I thought I was doing so good. _Look_ at this place! It was _not_ easy coordinating everyone to get this done in a month."

"Kid..." He knelled down, patted her shoulders and smiled. "It's not you." He started pacing around, taking inventory of the view around him. A gentle snow began falling from the sky. "Barbara wouldn't have let me skip this year's festivities even if I had to have my legs amputated. And it's turning out to be amazing. But my...my heart's just not in it anymore. I'm not getting any younger here either."

"Aww, come on..."

"Hey, relax. All I'm saying is I'm gonna need somebody to take over to keep the tradition alive."

"Oh, that makes sense. So who'd you have in mind?" Mr. Dunlap kept a proud smile on his face the entire time while Star's brain slowly turned & chugged, allowing her to put two and two together. Her face started lighting up like a Christmas tree. "Are you sure?"

"I wasn't even going to _have_ the party this year before you came along. And in one sitting you've pretty much thrown _the_ coolest holiday party this town's ever seen."

Star's face glowed red. "Aww, shucks. But don't count your chickens before they hatch yet. The party could still end in disaster."

He shook his head. "Nah, I don't think so. I've seen bigger parties in my lifetime completely crash and burn on arrival, but this...I've got a good feeling about this one."

"And...you're just...you're just going to give me the reigns to the festivities from now on?"

"_If _you're interested-"

Without warning, she lunged in and bear hugged him, holding back tears. "I ACCEPT!" She shouted, loud enough for people around the park to hear her. "Thank you so much! I promise I'll make you proud!"

He parted and patted her head. "Kid...you already have." He stood up, dusted himself off, and turned around, readying to walk away. "Oh and before I forget..._Happy Birthday_."

Those were the only two words he spoke. But it was more than enough. Her eyes lit up and she turned to face the tarp on the stage. The pieces started coming together. She didn't know _what_ exactly was underneath the tarp, but she didn't have to. Those two words were enough to put a massively proud smile on her face. But on the off chance she was wrong, she chose to keep it to herself until it was time. The party, Christmas, _and_ Star's birthday were just around the corner...

**End of Chapter 8!**

**So I think there's at least one chapter left in this story, maybe two. We'll see how it plays out. But I hope you're enjoying this story and hope you're enjoying my other series "Ballad of Earth-Mewni" as well. Updates will be inconsistent and erratic as I get my personal life sorted out but I have no intention of giving up so easily.**

**Have a happy holiday, whatever you celebrate! And as always, please read & review! :)**


	9. Beautiful Christmas

**Star vs The Forces of Evil**

**Beautiful Christmas**

**Disclaimer: _Star vs The Forces of Evil_ was created by Daron Nefcy and is owned by Disney. I own no part of _Star vs_.**

* * *

**Chapter 9: Beautiful Christmas**

**Original Postdate: December 23, 2019**

* * *

**Christmas Eve**

The day of the party finally arrived. Everything was set. It was make or break time for Star and the gang. This party was either going to be one for the scrapbook, or it would be a complete disaster. Star, Marco, Jackie, Chloe, Tom, Janna, Pony Head, and Mr. Dunlap, as well as the Butterfly clan _and_ the Diazes all stood at the entrance to the park, awaiting the arrival of those who RSVP'd.

"You okay, Star?" Marco asked his girlfriend, taking note of her shaking nerves.

"Oh yeah, totally, totally..." Star said loudly and quickly. "I always shake uncontrollably when I'm calm and totally not nervous like I am right now."

"It's all gonna work out. We've done everything we can. Everything in there looks _amazing_."

"You guys _really_ outdid yourselves."

"Us? Girl, we all know this wouldn't have come together like this without _you_." Janna smiled, reaching over and lightly punching Star's arm.

"Guys..."

"You know she's right." Jackie chimed in, getting Star's face to turn red.

"But what if something goes wrong? What if...what if they hate it?"

"Yo, girl, if they got a problem, that's on them." Pony Head exclaimed. "You guys put your backs into this party and, like, everything in there is like _the_ most beautiful party I've ever seen! Are you _sure_ you destroyed all the magic, cuz that's the only way you could put something like that together."

Star and Marco got a laugh from that. "Nah, magic's got nothing to do with it. It's good old fashioned teamwork and camaraderie."

"You have a pretty good team with you, hard to deny that." Mr. Dunlap remarked, tusseling Star's hair before turning back to Pony Head. Pony Head's mere _existence_ baffled him. "So...how do you...how do you _exist_?"

"What's that mean?"

"...You're a floating _head_."

"...Yeah."

"No arms _or_ legs."

"...so?"

"H-H-How do you _do_ things, how do you exist!?"

Pony Head could only raise an eyebrow, for before she opened her mouth, a large crowd of people and monsters came down the street heading towards them. "Ooh, they're coming!" Star pointed out, getting excited at the sight. "Get ready guys, we get _one_ shot to pull this off!"

Mr. Dunlap patted Star's shoulder and stepped in front of her. "Let me take the lead here." He said, clearing his throat and preparing to utilize his thunderous voice. The crowd approached them and slowly came to a stop when they were in striking distance. "HOW'S Y'ALL DOIN'!?" He shouted at the top of his lungs. The crowd cheered in response, albeit awkwardly. "Hope you're all ready for the biggest holiday party Echo Creek's ever seen!" More enthusiastic but awkward cheering. "Come on in!" He led the kids and the crowd into the park, showing off the gigantic party that had been set up for them. Glistening, glowing lights surrounding nearly every corner of the park, engulfing the place in a Christmas-esque atmosphere that rivaled only cheesy rom-coms.

Tables with only the finest holiday cuisines populated every quadrant. The tables representing the orphanage and the animal shelter were filled to the brim with babies, animals, _and_ representatives from both happily waiting for their acknowledgement. Christmas, Hannukah, and Kwanza decorations & knick-knacks scattered everywhere, lighting up the park in a way that could only be captured in fairy tales. There was a magnificent, over-sized Christmas tree right next to the giant stage, with presents galore scattered underneath it, more than enough for everyone to have at least one.

There was noticeable reservation among the crowd, especially in regard to the non-Christmas decorations. But the longer they all took to observing the area, the more people began to warm up to them. Some of the non-Christmas decorations & set pieces were even earning singing praise from some of the toughest skeptics among the large group. "Don't be shy!" Star shouted to them. "

"...What do we do first?" One of them asked, visibly nervous. He resembled a deer in headlights. "...Where do we..."

"Where do you go? Well, you can go wherever you want! The whole park is your oyster!" She shouted gleefully, turning to Mr. Dunlap. "_Am I saying that right?_"

"_Not even close."_

"I don't know...this always used to be a Christmas party."

"It _used_ to be a lot of things." Star replied firmly but calmly. "But times change."

"Isn't that kind of a weak excuse to just fix something that wasn't broken?" He barked back, turning _his_ attention to Mr. Dunlap. "_You_ weren't even a big part of the party planning this year, what's up with that? Y-You just let her run rampart on this place? You and the misses poured your hearts into this every year! What does _she_ think of all this?"

Dunlap took a moment to silently formulate his response. He shrugged and pointed towards the sky. "I don't know, why don't you look up to the sky and ask her yourself?"

"I ain't talking about the clouds, I'm-" And then it set in. The news of the passing of Mr. Dunlap's wife was kept mostly secret, only a select few knowing, Star herself included. "Wait..._when_?" It soon started sinking in for the rest off the people in the large crowd; loud murmurs could be heard coming from as far as the back of the group.

"Few months ago. Fact is there wasn't even going to _be _a party this year had it not been for this girl." He proudly patted Star's shoulder again, causing her to blush with pride.

"Aww...but come on, it wasn't just me. I got me an awesome pack of friends and family that stepped up with me." She turned and gave each and every one of her friends & loved ones the recognition she felt they deserved. "Marco and his folks cooked up pretty much _every_ single plate of food that's waiting in there for you. All of it piping hot! No frozen foods for anyone tonight!" She looked over at Jackie, waving to her and smiling. "Jackie and I did this awesome PR campaign to get the word out about this party! It was _not_ easy, but man was it fun!" She had a slight blush going as she giggled in an effort to ease her elevating tension. Getting past her gay crush on Jackie was a work in progress, but a work she didn't mind taking its time either. "Tom & Janna are responsible for tonight's kick-butt entertainment that's gonna rock all of your worlds!" A brief pause, the gears in her head turning as she herself turned to the two of them. "Speaking of which, where _are_ they?"

"Oh don't worry, they're here. Let's just say they're lurking in the shadows waiting to make a big entrance, waiting to make themselves _present_." She sneered, giving Star a rather smug side eye and hoping she would catch on. She did not. "_...presen-"_

"She's not getting it." Tom said bluntly.

"Yeah I can see that. Okay they're in a giant life-sized wrapped present settled in the park waiting for their cue to bust out."

"Isn't that dangerous?" Jackie asked her.

"Nah, there's air holes and everything. They're good." She turned to Tom. "Right Tom?"

The completely flabbergasted look on his face immediately rose red flags for Janna. "...air holes?"

"..._oh my god_." And without a second's more hesitation she dashed right past him into the park towards the life-sized present where the entertainment was settled, prompting Tom to follow her in a panic.

"WAIT WHAT I'D DO WRONG!?" He screamed as he hustled out of sight following her. Star burst into laughter.

"Oh I'm terrible for laughing at this, but that is _classic_ Tom." She managed out in between heaving from the laughter. "I love that boy." She turned her attention back to the group, where some of them were still restless.

"I don't know..." One of them spoke up. "Our family's Hanukkah traditions are sacred. I'm not sure I'm comfortable sharing those traditions with hoodlums looking for a fight."

Someone else in the crowd stepped out to face him; he was clearly not pleased. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"N-Nothing, j-just that I don't expect everyone to understand how we celebrate the holiday. It's nothing personal."

Amid the opposer's rising fury, Star, arms crossed and deadpanned looking at them, spoke out. "Are you sure about that?"

Her questioned sparked confusion among the two as well as the group at large. "What's that supposed to mean?" The Hanukkah celebrating man asked.

"From where I'm standing it sounds like you're assuming he's just going to be super ignorant of your culture and your ways & dismiss it without even giving it a chance."

"Wh-no! That's not it at all! It's just that our traditions are...are-"

"Are no better _and_ no worse than any other holiday." Her answer, as well as how _committed_ she was to that answer, was what spurned even more confusion & murmuring from the crowd.

"Not to defend him, but...I actually _don't_ understand...you know, Hanukkah or any of the other..."

"You know what? That's not even important." She turned around and started to walk into the park, signaling to the group to follow her. She led them to the stage, where she climbed up onto it and turned to face them. "Let me ask you all something: what's one thing Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa...really, _all_ of the holidays have in common?" Everyone murmured among themselves for a brief moment. Nobody had a clear answer. "I'll tell you what they all have in common: love. Holidays are - or they _should_ be - about spreading love and joy to everyone around you! Regardless of your race, regardless of your gender, and _especially_ regardless or your culture."

"What does that mean?"

"I know a bunch of you guys out there don't celebrate Christmas. I know some of you celebrate Hanukkah. Well guess what? I want you guys here with us! Same with the people who celebrate Kwanzaa! The party is open to you all as well! And heck, some of you might not even celebrate _anything_ around this time of year! Well you know what? You're _still_ welcome at this party! Each and every one of you!"

"...Even the monsters?" One not-so-brave soul asked from the back.

"Yes, even the monsters. When I say everybody, I _mean_ it."

One of them deep into the crowd raised their hand. "Why are you doing this?" She asked Star; her tone wasn't derogatory or bitter or angry, merely curious. "The party was fine the way it was before. Why fix something that wasn't broken?"

"I'll answer your question with one of my own: how do _you_ know that it wasn't broken? Just because you _say_ it wasn't?"

"...I don't-"

"If there's one thing that my endless research of these festivities has taught me, it's that Christmas - and I mean this in the nicest way possible - Christmas is freaking **_EVERYWHERE_**. I'm sorry, but it's kind of exhausting going into every story in town and seeing Christmas just dominate everywhere. I actually feel really bad for the people that don't celebrate it: it must be pretty exasperating to have to go into commercial stores and see a holiday they just aren't interested in being thrown all around like it's a toy. What about the people that celebrate Hanukkah or Kwanzaa? Don't they matter too? Everything doesn't _have_ to revolve around Christmas!"

"Do _you_ celebrate those holidays?"

"You know what? I don't know! I mean it, this is my _first_ winter holiday on Earth! I come from an entirely different world that no longer exists. I have to figure out who Star Butterfly on Earth is! You know, maybe I _will_ embrace all that Christmas has to offer! There's nothing wrong with that. There's nothing _wrong_ with celebrating Christmas, but there's also nothing wrong with celebrating other holidays too. I'm not here to say 'This holiday is just for the people that don't embrace Christmas.' No, this party is for _EVERYONE! _Why should it bother you that people who are having a good time at this party want to celebrate the other holidays? Are they _really_ hurting you?"

The woman didn't have an adequate response to her rebuttal. None of them in the crowd did. "Okay but like, do we _have_ to share the park with...you kn-"

"The monsters? Lady, we've been co-existing for six months like this. If you still have a problem with that, I'm sorry to hear it, but that's how it is. And you know what? You'd be surprised to find out how many people actually _don't_ agree with you there. They are all _just_ as productive of members of society as anyone else. For example...you know that new cornball league that opened up in Echo Creek over the summer? The one that everyone - even the humans - loves." She pointed out into the park, over to the big wrapped present that the entertainment resided in, noting Janna & Tom trying to open it, with some help from Buff Frog. "You can thank _that_ frog guy for orchestrating it all: Buff Frog.

"Oh, and that new 'Big Brother Big Sister' program for the underprivileged monsters & kids in Echo Creek?" She pointed out to the crowd, specifically to Ludo, who was standing off to the side with Dennis. "That was _all_ Ludo. Thanks to that guy and his story, lonely monsters & kids all around town can all grow up with each other. Nobody has to be alone. And I'm just scratching the surface here, but I don't want to be here all night. But are you seriously saying that _those_ are the people you _don't_ want to celebrate your holiday with?"

Once again, no feasible rebuttal from anyone.

"I think a lot of us have forgotten what the holidays are supposed to really be about. Well, maybe I'm just a naive little girl, but if you ask me, they're about love. Giving love, receiving love, spreading love...they're about bringing joy into other people's lives. They're about celebrating your life and other people's lives, reminiscing about how far you've come and all the cool things you did over the year."

One of the people in the crowd stepped forward with her hand raised. It was a young woman whose face read that she had quite a bit of bad luck befall her for some time. "What if...what if you didn't do any cool stuff this year?"

Star read her face like a book and immediately formed a bond. She extended her hand out, and the woman inched closer to her. "Let me guess: you've had a tough year and a lot of things didn't break your way?" The woman hesitated before nodding quietly. "I know that feeling. I was...I _am_ in those shoes right now. But hey, you made it." The woman got close enough where she gently grabbed Star's hand and held it in her palm, a big smile crossing her face. "Sometimes the most important accomplishment we can have in a year is just getting through it. I'm glad you're here with us tonight."

The woman nodded as a tear fell from her eye. "I almost wasn't...thank you."

As the woman departed, Marco, Pony Head, Jackie, Chloe, as well as Star & Marco's families _and_ Mr. Dunlap all climbed the stage and crowded around Star, showing her with the love she wanted to give back to everyone in Echo Creek. "Hey, _**all y'all**_!" Pony Head roared, startling everyone in the crowd and the ones around her. "You all oughta give this girl a little bit of respect! Have you all forgotten that like it's thanks to _her_ that we're not all fried to a crisp at the hands of a Nazi lunatic who was stuck in the not-so-glory days!"

"_Pony Head, don't relitigate that..._" Star quietly begged.

"What? They deserve to know what you did for them and why they should be kissing your feet, girl!"

"I don't want them to do that. First off that'd disgusting. Secondly I just want us all to have a good time."

"Well, I'll tell you one thing..." Mr. Dunlap intervened. "There might be something all of these people here _can_ agree on celebrating after all..."

"Oh?" Star asked rather curiously & playfully. Mr. Dunlap led the ones on the stage minus Star towards the tarp, each grabbing an edge.

"On my signal...**_PULL!_**" They all joined together to pull the tarp off. Underneath the tarp was a sight that could only be seen to be believed: a magnificent cake four layers tall with drawings of Star done in filling featured on each layer, a long, _long_ dining table big enough to fit a few dozen people with presents scattered all around the table, and two tall columns - one on each side of the cake - holding a banner which read "HAPPY BIRTHDAY STAR BUTTERFLY" in big bold letters.

"**_SURPRISE!"_** Came a thunderous yell from those on the stage as well as a few scattered voices - The Diazes & Butterflies, and Ludo included - from the crowd. "**_HAPPY BIRTHDAY STAR!_**"

Despite having suspicions of what she could expect from tonight, she was left jaw-dropped and blown away at the sight before her. The Butterflies & Diazes all joined them on the stage; Star couldn't bring herself to turn around and face them. "...F-F-For me?!"

Marco went over and bear hugged her. "And the best part is...there's _no_ Stump to ruin it for you this time." He glanced over at her face only to find streams of tears falling from her eyes and a massive smile forming on her face. "Those are tears of joy, right?"

She slowly turned to face him, nodding twice as slowly. "I can't believe this. In all my wildest dreams I could've never predicated any of _this_!?"

"I don't kow, I feel like we undersold...wait..." His face slowly fell. "Awww man, you _knew_ about it, didn't you? Alright, who squealed?" He leered in an unimpressed manner over at Mr. Dunlap, who took offense to the accusation.

"I said 'Happy Birthday' to her, how was I supposed to know that would give it all away!?"

"She's not very consistent in her ability to read between the lines." Moon explained. "I think she got that from us."

Star turned to face the lot of them, eyes still soaking in tears. "I...I don't even know what to say...w-why-"

"It was past time for you to have a _proper_ birthday celebration on your birthday." Moon said to her.

"That destructive, monstrous Stump is no longer of this world. He can't hurt any of us anymore." River continued. "And he can't push your birthday aside any longer."

Mr. Dunlap smiled, though a blank smile. "I _still_ have no idea what the hell any of you are talking about."

"You guys..." She sniffled back tears. "You didn't have to do this for me."

"No, we...we did." Moon argued. "Allowing that infuriating Stump to police how we celebrated your birthday was an act I'll never forgive myself for! But thankfully, that's all in the past. It's a new age! Let's embrace it together!"

"I like the way you think! Thank you...all of you."

"Oh it's not just us, sweetie." Eclipsa barged in, pointing out Ludo in the crowd.

"...Ludo? Really?" Star smiled as Ludo sheepishly nodded.

"He really went to bat for you." Marco added.

"...Did he now?" She gestured for Ludo to join them on the stage, a gesture that Ludo was overwhelmed by, though he didn't hesitate to accept it, with Dennis following close behind. "Thanks, Ludo." She lovingly ruffled the top of his head. "I'm sure you and everyone else here'll get a kick out of this cake. It looks amazing!"

"Them? But Star it's _your_ birthday cake." Marco reminded her.

"Dude, that thing is _huge_. There's no way I'm finishing that by myself. Besides, what good is a tasty birthday cake that's bigger than Globgor if you can't share it?"

"I want a corner piece!" Globgor joked, getting everyone around to laugh.

"Perhaps we can dine on that delicious delectable with a side of those fascinating meat products on the other side of the park." Ludo jumped in, referring to the tables advertising the animal shelter and the orphanage.

"...No, Ludo. Those are stray animals and children. We don't _eat_ them. We adopt them."

"...oh..."

"Adopt?" One of the bystanders piped up.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot! Follow me!" She leaped off the stage and raced over to the two tables, where all of the children were being tended to and distracted by the workers and all of the stray animals were being cared for. A light snow began to fall from the sky. "These beautiful children and pets need a forever home. Some of them have been stuck in limbo for years." A few of the children happily babbled at the group, waving towards them excitedly. Some of the animals excited started getting restless and leaping all over the place. "But hey, if you can't swing it, don't feel bad. They could also use some playmates, and there's _plenty_ of room in this park to run around and go nuts, even with the snow fall."

The same lady from earlier stepped forward, eyeing one of the little kittens, who meowed and slowly edged towards her. At the same time, both Meteora and Mariposa managed to wiggle their way out of their respective parents' grips and dashed towards the babies from the orphanage, who instantly started babbling in delight. Before anyone knew it, it was a baby free-for-all, and an adorable one at that. It elicited very loud "aww's" from the crowd at large, especially when Mariposa and Meteora reunited and hugged each other.

"You see that? _That's_ what I want us all to make. That undying, unconditional love foe everyone that wants it! And if I can do that for one day - hell, even just for _one person_ \- then I've done my part. So what do you guys say? Are you willing to try? Just for one night?"

The group all silently exchanged looks for a while. No words, only awkward murmurs. But slowly those murmurs turned to optimistic outbursts, pleasing Star. In her joyous state, she unconsciously looked back over to where Janna & Tom were, seeing that the wrapped present was nearly open. "Oh, the entertainment!" Star shouted as she hustled over to their place, with everyone else following behind. With Buff Frog's help, they were finally able to get the box open, spilling out both the entertainment - a four person boy band - and a larger-than-normal-sized robot-like toy. The boys began panting and wiping sweat from their foreheads.

"Are you guys okay!?" Janna asked in a huff to one of them, who leered at her and clearly was not happy.

"No we're not okay!" He shouted, pausing for a moment before picking up the toy_,_ which was damaged in the fall. "You guys ruined a perfectly good _Metallic Manny!_ What's the matter with you!?"

Janna turned to everyone in the crowd. "Yeah they're fine."

The four of them dusted themselves off and straightened themselves out, dismissing Janna entirely as Star ran up to them in a huff. "Sorry about that, guys. Hope it wasn't too much of a hassle."

"Nah it's cool, we've been through worse."

"Well!" She clasped her hands and turned to the crowd. "That's everything. We've got awesome food, babies & animals up for adoption, _and_ lots and lots of presents under the tree for everyone here! The party is a go!" The crowd, having decided to play along & give in to the madness of the holiday season, cheered. Mr. Dunlap made his way around the crowd and approached Star again. "So...do you think your wife would like this?"

He smiled proudly & nodded. "Barbara would love it. And she'd be proud to have you on board."

"You really trust me with all of this?"

He nodded again. "I think we're in good hands." He turned to the crowd and cleared his throat. "Ladies and gentleman, I am _proud_ to announce that as of right now, the annual Echo Creek Christmas p-I mean, _Holiday _Celebration Extravaganza is under _new_ management!" More cheered elicited from the crowd; Star had to cover her face to avoid showing the tears of joy falling, but that proved fruitless once she was bombarded by her friends & family and showered with hugs & kisses in front of everyone.

"We're very proud of you, dear!" River exclaimed.

"You did a great job with everything!" Globgor agreed.

"Thanks guys, but I couldn't have pulled _any _of this off without all of you!" The last one to hug her was Marco, who kept his embrace on her longer than anyone else by far. "You all mean the world to me. This holiday wouldn't be anything without you."

"D'aww, Star." They shared a kiss. "So, uh...how in the heck are you going to top this next year?"

She playfully shrugged. "I'm sure I'll think of something." She let out a giggle while taking one more survey around the park. But in her survey, she noticed something off about the giant tree near the stage. "Oh shoot!"

"What?"

"That tree!" She pointed to the top of the tree. "I forgot to put a star on it."

"We don't need one, we have the perfect 'Star' right here." He joked, wrapping an arm around her. She saw right through the joke and playfully flicked his nose in response. "Ow."

"That was terrible."

"I know."

Star ran over to the gigantic pile of presents and shifted through them, discovering the star meant for the Christmas tree on the bottom of the pile. "I could've sworn I had this put up, but I guess not."

"It's not a big deal. Everything else looks so good I don't think anyone'll care."

"_I_ will." She darted her vision around and found Globgor again. "Hold that thought." And then she raced over to him, whispering something into his ear, something that he appeared totally on board with. So he took the star and picked Marco up.

"Wait what's happening!? What are you doing?" Marco understandably expressed confusion and concern, but quickly caught on to what was happening as Globgor grew himself to the same size as the Christmas tree, and then holding Marco out so he could put the star on. The boy looked down at Star, and she responded in kind with an enthusiastic thumbs up. Slowly he turned back to the tree and slowly inched his hands towards the top, settling the star right on it. Once he was sure it was staying on, he squealed in delight, as did Star on the ground. She and Mr. Dunlap went behind the stage, where a long surge protector with a bunch of plugs in every socket was located.

"Would you do the honors?" Mr. Dunlap asked her. She smiled.

"Nah, why don't you do it?" She counter-offered. "If you're sure this is your last hurrah, you might as well soak it all up."

He looked at the surge protector, then back at her. "You sure? You've earned it."

"Hey, there's always next year."

Accepting her logic, she hugged him tightly for a long moment before pulling away and enthusiastically flipping the switch. In a moment's notice, thousands upon thousands of lights plastered all around the park lit up, shining gorgeous, glistening lights onto the ground and completely engulfing the park in a holiday atmosphere. Whatever remaining dampened spirits were left among the group were faded away as the entire place erupted in a loud cheer, completely in awe of the sight. The two of them reappeared from behind the stage and found themselves bombarded with hugs from Star's friends & loved ones.

One by one, they broke from the embrace, until at the end it was just Star & Marco left hugging each other. "Happy birthday, Star."

"Merry Christmas, Marco." She wiped the falling tears - unsuccessfully - from her eyes before returning to the crowd. The snow was now falling even harder. "**_ALRIGHT, ENOUGH SAPPY! _**The park is all yours! Grab a plate, grab some food, grab some presents, and let's get this party started!" More cheers from the group. She turned to the boy band. "Boys, get up on that stage and make with the party music!"

"**_HEY!_**" Came a booming voice from the crowd. A fancily dressed, portly man wearing black sunglasses stepped out from the crowd and approached Star. "_I'm_ their manager, _**I GIVE THE ORDERS**_!" Star glared rather annoyed at him, as he turned to the four boys. "What the birthday girl said." And that frown turned upside down as the boys got themselves fired up and soared onto the stage. The crowd en mass began scattered all around, finding something for each and every one of them to soak in about the party. The music cued up. Within seconds, it was rockin' like nobody had ever seen before.

**_Put down video games,_**  
**_Pick up some candy canes_**  
**_And hang a wreath on your door (Hey!)_**

**_Give back to those who need  
Bring peace and harmony  
Cause that's what Christmas is for_**

Star's first rockin' dance of the party came with both Jackie _and_ Chloe. And true to Jackie's word, Chloe was _quite_ flirtatious with Star, who didn't hesitate to return the favor. Of course, she found herself much more comfortable when she ended up dancing _just_ with Jackie, who also acted quite flirtatious with her, finding humor in getting Star flustered & embarrassed. She was not making it easy to get over her, but it was all in good fun, and they all loved every second of it, Star especially when their dance ended with Chloe & Jackie each kissing her on the cheek, causing a major blush.

Marco and Pony Head decided to team up and help out with the animal/baby adoptions, and much to everyone's surprise, they proved to be immensely popular, with both going at surprisingly fast rates. And Marco & Pony Head got along really well, even after a mix up that almost saw Mariposa get adopted by a stranger.

**_And this Christmas, this Christmas  
We'll celebrate a wonderful year_**

**_Oh this Christmas (it's Christmas) this Christmas (it's Christmas)  
We'll decorate the halls with love and cheer_**

The food turned out to be a monster - no pun intended - hit with everyone. Despite the fact that Angie & Rafael made tons of extras to account for the possibility they would be a hit, they _still_ found themselves fighting to keep up with the demand. Moon & River stepped in to help keep up the pace and keep everyone satisfied.

Interactions between the monsters, mewmans, and humans went off mostly well. While not everyone expressed the heightened optimism & love that Star and her friends did, all of them did manage to be a good sport and put on at least some sort of facade of good will. They were all willing to put up with the arrangement and try to have fun with the set up. And they did.

Gifts under the tree were distributed to everyone at a relaxed pace. None of the packages had names on them, so it was essentially a present lottery. And the people that didn't like or didn't need the gifts they opened were free to exchange them with whoever they wanted. Turns out everyone found much more joy in exchanging gifts than with actually opening them. Whatever worked. Even Ludo got into the fun of it, managing to get himself a brand new basketball coming from none other than Star herself, who took joy in thanking the little cretin that stood up for her.

**_We can make a beautiful Christmas_**  
**_We can make the world shine bright_**  
**_As long friends and family are with us_**  
**_Every star will shine tonight_**

The word "star" got Star's face to light up, and Marco took no pleasure in having to tell her that, no, the song was not written with her in mind.

**_We can make it beautiful (It's Christmas)  
We can make it beautiful (It's Christmas)  
We can make it beautiful (It's Christmas)  
We can make a beautiful Christmas_**

Out in the park, there was a giant mistletoe hanging from one of the trees. Underneath you could find Eclipsa & Globgor, Jackie & Chloe, _and_ Star & Marco were busy making out underneath it like it was nobody's business. Meanwhile around them, the snow was rapidly piling up, allowing for some intense snowball fights between bunches of the kids & adults. Tom & Janna were _easily_ dominating the lot, and occasionally snuck in a quick kiss while doing so.

**_Let's party in the snow_**  
**_Under the mistletoe_**  
**_Girl I've been waiting all year_**  
**_(All year) Hey..._**

The kids that _weren't_ participating in the snowball fight were building a snowman. But not just any snowmen; it was a snowman with Buff Frog as the skeleton. A willing skeleton at that. Even his kids were having a blast making a Buff Frog snowman. Snowboarding was also starting to pick up around them, and once they were done making out, Jackie & Chloe got in on it, with Star & Marco electing to join in the snowball fight and Eclipsa & Globgor rejoining the dance floor, taking Meteora along for the ride.

**_Rudolph can take a break_**  
**_Frosty_****_ can melt away  
_****_As long as I got you here_**

**_And this Christmas (it's Christmas), this Christmas (it's Christmas)  
We'll celebrate a wonderful year_**

By the stage, adjacent to the tree, there was another stack of presents - this stack _did_ have names on them. Starfan13 pulled out one of the boxes that was addressed to her. She ripped it open, and inside rested an authentic devil horns headband - similar to Star's signature headband - as well as a package of heart-shaped stickers, presumably for her cheeks. The girl squealed in delight and immediately took them with her as she dashed into the field and found Star, patting her shoulder rapidly to get her attention, showing off the headband and stickers. Before she could even react, Star found herself being tightly embraced by the delighted Starfan13. She didn't hesitate to return it.

**_Oh this Christmas (it's Christmas)__, this Christmas (it's Christmas)_  
_We'll decorate the halls with love and cheer_**

**_We can make a beautiful Christmas_**  
**_We can make the world shine bright_**  
**_As long friends and family are with us_**  
**_Every star will shine tonight_**

On the dance floor, in addition to Eclipsa & Globgor, Moon & River had a ball dancing with Angie & Rafael. Considering that it was a foregone conclusion that Star & Marco were going to marry one day and legally unite their families, they saw fit to have as much interaction with each other as possible. Not that anyone was complaining, they always had fun with each other. And the party was no exception.

**_We can make it beautiful (It's Christmas)  
We can make it beautiful (It's Christmas)  
We can make it beautiful (It's Christmas)  
We can make a beautiful Christmas_**

At one point during the festivities, Mariposa and Meteora found themselves left to their own devices, and like the little adorable toddlers they were, they saw to it that they reunited with each other. Mariposa in particular had a gift she wanted to give Meteora. Granted it was a simple drawing of the two of them together, but it was cute nonetheless. She managed to find her drawing under the batch of presents and started crawling towards Meteora, who was with Eclipsa & Globgor now at one of the food tables. Meteora caught wind of Mariposa trying to find her way to her and began tugging at her mother's dress. She looked down at her daughter, then in the direction she was pointing in, and it didn't take long for the dots to connect.

So Eclipsa grabbed her little daughter and carried her over to Mariposa, who began babbling loudly & joyously as she saw her best friend inching closer to her. She put her down next to Mariposa and watched in awe as she handed her friend her gift to her. But before Meteora could grab it, a strong wind came into the scene and blew the drawing out of her hands, carrying it out of the park. Maripos was devastated. She began whimpering, realizing she couldn't give her gift now. Meteora, sensing her friend's distress, reached her arms out and extended a hug to her friend, which instantly rose her spirits. The beautiful scene started to draw the attention of people scattered around, and not even the coldest of hearts or the most cynical of minds could stay frozen at the sight of two young babies consoling each other in the cutest possible way.

It even drew the attention of Star, who was over by the adoption tables with her friends and Mr. Dunlap, who was finishing up the paperwork to adopt a young kitten. "Kids. Aren't they just the best?"

"They are." He nodded in agreement.

"Did you ever have children?" She asked him. He shook his head.

"Nah. Barbara and I were never in a good position to raise kids. Besides..." He held up his cat. "Cats are much more manageable."

She giggled, all while Moon & River approached them. "I don't know. I'm kind of a sucker for kids. They're just so cute and innocent!" She turned to the adoption table and took note of Miles, the young child with Down Syndrome, building himself a tiny snowman in the snow. The boy watched many of his close friends at the orphanage get adopted that night, yet he was still his optimistic, happy self, seemingly no worse for the wear. "Hey little guy..." Star knelled down next to him, drawing his attention and getting happy babbles from him. He reached his arms out for a hug, which everyone loudly aww'd at. "I'm sorry you don't have a forever home yet. I was hoping tonight would be the night."

Miles had difficulty speaking, an unfortunate side effect of his condition. But that didn't stop him from trying. "H...H...Hi S-Sta!" He said. She gasped in delight.

"That's the first time he's said my name!" She squealed happily, hugging him tighter. "Well, close enough, at least." This interaction, a microcosm of the past few months that Star had spent as a volunteer at the orphanage, got Moon & River to formulate an idea. "Hey, don't you worry. You might not have a forever home, but you've got a forever friend in me." She kissed his forehead, getting more giggles from the boy.

"Love you!" He shouted just coherently enough to be understood.

"Love you too, buddy."

Star found herself being tapped on the shoulder by her folks. "Actually Star, we have great news." Moon said happily. "It turns out this little tyke _does_ have a forever home now."

Her face lit up. "Really? That's great! Who is it?"

"Why don't you see for yourself?" Moon handed her a stack of papers. Star began reading before even looking it over.

"_Adoption Proceedings: Miles Doe to Mr. & Mrs. River and Moon Butter-_" She didn't even finish.

**_Happy holiday, spread the love on Christmas day, (Singing)  
happy holiday, we can make a beautiful Christmas_**

Her jaw nearly hit the ground as her brain put the pieces together. She looked up slowly at her two parents, who were beaming in delight, while her friends around her slowly also came around to what was happening and shared in her delight. "Mom...Dad...is this...but why?"

"Miles _always_ asks for you." Reggie explained. "Every single day. The days that you're not volunteering with us can be a bit annoying because of that. No offense."

"You're a little closer to him than you are to any of the other kids." Greta agreed. "We all know it."

"This new world we're in is all about new beginnings." Moon continued. "Your father and I are too old to...to-"

"Make one yourself?" Star quipped, getting laughs from everyone, especially Marco.

"But that doesn't mean we can't make a new addition."

"It's always worthwhile to keep people in your love whom you love, especially if they're children." River added, smiling widely as Miles continued to happily babble.

Star was stunned silent. "I...I don't know what to say..."

"Star..." Marco piped up. "I don't know if this means anything, but I think you'd make a wonderful sister."

Her eyes lit up even further at her boyfriend's high praise. She gave the papers back to her parents & picked Miles up. "What do you think, Miles? Do you want to come live with me and my family?"

Now it was the boy's turn to have his eyes light up. He began cheering loudly and waving his arms around. "YAY STA!" He blurted out as he tightly hugged the girl again, prompting Star to return it.

_**Happy holiday, spread the love on Christmas day, (Singing)  
Happy holiday, we can make a beautiful Christmas**_

She was greeted with hugs by all of her friends. "Congrats, Star!" Tom exclaimed.

"Way to go, girl. I always thought you'd make a good sister." Janna agreed.

"Thanks, guys. This is turning out to be one amazing holiday."

"Wouldn't have happened with you." Jackie chimed in. "You really pulled it off." She was greeted with a playful arm punch and then a warm hug, causing more blushing from the girl.

"Nah, _we_ pulled this off. Thanks guys. For everything." In a moment of blank mindedness, she gave Jackie a quick peck on her cheek before turning to Marco and embracing him in a full on kiss.

"Hey, there's a boatload of presents on stage waiting for you." Marco said, pointing to the stage. "Not to mention that enormous cake just sitting there."

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's dig in!" She shouted triumphantly as she and every last one of them (minus Reggie & Greta who had to stay behind for the table) raced towards the stage, getting lost in the magic.

_**We can make a beautiful Christmas**_  
_**We can make the world shine bright**_  
_**As long friends and family are with us**_  
_**Every star will shine tonight**_

_**We can make it beautiful (It's Christmas)  
We can make it beautiful (It's Christmas)  
We can make it beautiful (It's Christmas)  
We can make a beautiful Christmas**_

Star took a good look out into the crowd and saw everyone managing to find something about the party to get lost in. All while the gorgeous snowfall continued. She looked over to her loving boyfriend. "Hey Marco..."

"Yeah?"

"I had a thought. If..._When_...we get married-"

"You want our wedding day to fall on Christmas?" He interrupted her.

"How'd you know what I was going to say?"

_**We can make a beautiful Christmas**_

He shrugged and brought her in close. "Because I had the idea first." They smiled and shared a kiss. "But are you sure you'd want something _else_ overshadowing your birthday? I would've thought you'd be sick of that with the Stump and all."

"Yeah, but this time, it's _me_ making that choice, not some stupid Mewni legend."

A laugh between the two. "I'm so glad that damn Stump is dead."

"Me too. Merry Christmas, Marco Diaz."

"Happy birthday, Star Butterfly." The two brought each other in close and had themselves an incredible Christmas kiss, all while their family & friends watched with joy around them.

_**We can make a beautiful Christmas**_

**__Happy holiday, spread the love on Christmas day, (Singing)_  
_Happy holiday...__**

And thus, the first Echo Creek Christmas - excuse me, _Holiday_ \- Celebration Extravaganza on Earth-Mewni was a rousing success. The possibilities for the future were endless, and Star & her friends looked forward to opening even more doors for peace & love to reign supreme.

**_We can make a beautiful Christmas!_**

**The End.**

**And thus, my third (technically fourth in chronological order) fanfiction in my Star vs post-finale series is complete. And hey, made it before Christmas! Of course it helps that I got a new laptop for my birthday which works great!**

**And now with this story done I can finally focus all of my undivided creative attention on "The Ballad of Earth-Mewni." I don't expect to get another update done before the end of the year but hopefully the next episode gets done by early January. And yes, Star's new little brother Miles will be a prominent part of the story, but as I mentioned, this takes place about six months into "Ballad of Earth Mewni' and chronologically we're not there yet as of this writing. ****Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this story and I hope you'll give all of my Star vs stories a chance. For those that have stuck around since the start, I humbly thank you.**

**A always, reviews would be greatly appreciated. **

**And have a happy holiday, whatever you celebrate :)**


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